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The African Experience

As the number of people of the Asia-Pacific region contracting HIV continues to grow, the private sector can no longer afford to leave responsibility for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment with governments, donors and NGOs. The short time frame in which South Africa's HIV epidemic has reached almost one-third of its population serves as a warning to business people in the Asia-Pacific to take the epidemic seriously and respond with appropriate measures. Disturbingly, many of the socio-cultural factors that caused the severity of South Africa's HIV epidemic are present in PNG. APBCA has highlighted key points from a 2003 survey of businesses in South Africa to show the impact of HIV on the private sector in that country and has surveyed data produced by the IMF on the impact of HIV on companies in Côte d'Ivoire. APBCA will keep members informed of the latest information on the impacts of HIV on business and the economy with updates to this page.

Since first emerging in the 1980s, HIV has rapidly become a critical issue affecting the operations of companies in many countries and communities. In parts of Africa, where HIV affects up to one-third of the adult population, businesses have experienced increased production costs, reduced profits and greater difficulty delivering products and services.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region hit hardest by HIV. South Africa, the largest economy in southern Africa, until recently had the largest population living with HIV. The strategies adopted by companies in these areas over the last ten years to minimise the impact of HIV can provide valuable models to countries with rapidly growing epidemics. Countries with less severe epidemics, such as Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), also show that HIV can have adverse effects before it reaches the prevalence rates seen in sub-Saharan Africa.