Living by the SABMiller value of "Our people are our enduring advantage", SABMiller plc has been focusing on the area of Corporate Social Responsibility for the betterment of its workforce. HIV/AIDS has been on the forefront of the CSR activities especially in Africa which is home to over 70% of the total world HIV-positive population.
Indian Operations - Working together towards betterment of the society and the workforce
SABMiller India recognizes that HIV/AIDS is a major threat to the world of work where it affects the most
productive segment of the labor force and imposes huge costs on enterprises through declining productivity and loss of skills and experience.
In order to curb the menace of HIV/AIDS the need of the hour is to have a proactive approach. SABMiller India acknowledges the seriousness of the issue and the future impact this may have on the Company, as well as the broader communities, if left unchecked.
SABMiller India cares about the health and well-being of its employees and strives to address this issue by ensuring prevention through knowledge and information dissemination. The Company believes this is an essential element in combating and managing HIV/AIDS.
SABMiller India has signed a MOU with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Workplace programme in India. The aim of this partnership is to help prevent the transmission of HIV among workers and to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on workplace productivity.
The areas of collaboration include technical assistance by ILO in drafting policy and dissemination, in providing HIV/AIDS information, education and communication (IEC) material, conducting Training of Trainers (ToT) programme across SABMiller India and further handholding of master trainers in training peer educators. ILO also assists in Monitoring and Evaluation of Training of Trainers programme.
Some of the ongoing workplace interventions are as follows:
Master Trainer's Training programmes.
Training of peer educators across all the breweries.
Dissemination and display of awareness and training material such as posters, card games, presentations and FAQ's on HIV/AIDS have been distributed in all the breweries.
Further, SABMiller educational material and methodologies are being be used to add value where applicable.
Future projects:
Regular awareness session.
Talk sessions by invited guests from People living with HIV/AIDS and State AIDS Control Organization, in all the breweries.
Start awareness programme with Truckers and other stakeholders in the supply chain.
Tie ups with NGOs for referrals.
Doctor visits for consultation.
Open house discussions with employees.
Spouses programmes.
Sessions on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).
Intervention in India
Our HIV/Aids work has traditionally focused on African countries with high prevalence rates. In 2007, however, we focused increasingly on other countries with potential emerging epidemics.
Although India has a low prevalence of HIV/Aids as a percentage of its population, as many as three million people are affected. Using our experience and expertise from Africa, we have trained 20 'master trainers', who in turn have passed on their knowledge to 150 peer educators within our workforce.
Supported by a range of media, these people have ensured that key messages about HIV/Aids are communicated to colleagues accurately and effectively. To maximise the impact and ensure greater acceptance of those affected, we have invited people living with the disease into the workplace to share their experience.
