3. Impact of HIV/AIDS on WSH service providers

In all countries, organisations responsible for the delivery of WSH services depend on management and labour trained in specialist areas. In developing countries, the number of skilled people is often severely limited and the challenge of sustaining and extending services puts them under considerable pressure. When AIDS strikes, the human resources pool can be hit very hard. Field operatives and staff working away from home are especially susceptible to the sexual behaviour that spreads HIV. In some high-prevalence countries, WSH agencies report staff infection rates as high as 30%. Absence through sickness and low energy levels mean a huge reduction in productivity and, in some cases, AIDS may rob an agency of irreplaceable key staff.

Despite these evident impacts, very few public or private WSH agencies or sector NGOs have an internal policy to address HIV/AIDS. The stigma and embarrassment associated with the disease make it hard to create open discussion or to formulate coping strategies. Section 5 of the TOP offers guidance for overcoming this reticence and developing an “AIDS-competent” organisation. It points to a toolkit for impact assessment developed by the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN) in South Africa and to a Code of Practice from the International Labour Office (ILO), both of which offer checklists of internal actions that can be taken by employers to reduce the spread and the impact of HIV/AIDS within their organisations.

In brief summary, the key elements of a workplace policy to equip an organisation to address HIV/AIDS issues are:

• Staff representation and, where possible, involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS in the development of the policy,
• Communication of the policy to all staff,
• Continuous review and update in light of changes taking place,
• Monitoring on implementation,
• Evaluation of impact.
• HIV prevention education and information,
• Peer education programmes,
• Condom distribution and availability,
• Access to treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STD),
• Adjustment of working conditions to reduce susceptibility,
• Enhancement of women’s capacity to negotiate for safer sex,
• Promotion of zero tolerance of sexual harassment within the organisation, with disciplinary measures for offenders.