Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa, Director General, Ghana AIDS Commission said on Friday it was imperative for public and private sectors to institute workplace polices and interventions that would address the complex ramification of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB). Prof. Amoa noted that the impact of HIV/AIDS on the world reflected devastating effects on the public and private enterprises and economic activities at both macro and micro levels of every sector of the society.

He said: "HIV/AIDS affect the quality of labour in most experienced age groups of the labour force. Finding qualified top management and skilled workers to replace those who die or can no longer work can be extremely difficult and expensive."

Prof. Amoa said this at the launch of the Ghana Water Company Limited/ Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) HIV/TB workplace policy project in Accra.

The project dubbed "Save water, save life, Know your HIV/TB status," is supported by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).

The objectives of the policy is to encourage attitudinal and behavioural change among employees and their families on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis and encourage voluntary testing and counseling among staff. It will also ensure that staff living with HIV/ AIDS and TB are not discriminated against in obtaining access to any facility in company. Prof. Amoa said it took a much longer time to train newly recruited workforce adding, "this could reduce productivity."

Other impacts of the pandemic, the Director General said, were high level of absenteeism; increase cost in health care and high level of stigmatization.

Prof. Amoa noted that involvement of the public was very important because the most significant feature of the epidemic was concentrated in the working age population of 14 to 49.

He regretted that majority of people who died of AIDS are adults in their productive, sexual and reproductive ages.

The Director General said the commission recognised HIV/AIDS had profound effect on workers and their families, enterprises, and the national economy and was therefore intensifying efforts at getting all stakeholders involved in the intervention activities.

He appealed to the management of the GWCL/AVRL not leave the project to junior staff or workers only and urged them to make create a budget to support and sustain it.

"Once the best practices are put in place I have no doubt that the company will derive positive results from the programme. It is my hope that management and staff will take the project seriously so that investment being made will not go waste but help to protect human resources of the company," he added.

Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing told the workers not to ostracize people living with HIV. "Contracting AIDS does not mean you have become an enemy to the society, don't make fun of victims of the pandemic, encourage them so that they can live for long," the Minister said.

Dr Nii Addo, Director, National AIDS Control Programme noted that HIV/AIDS and TB had not only invaded homes but workplaces and called for open discussion on the pandemic.

Dr Addo urged workers not to judge any one who had contracted the pandemic adding "by embracing them in our fold, we are winning the fight against the disease."

Mr Anne De-Groot, Outgoing Managing Director AVRL said although technical and administrative systems played an important role in their operation, workers made the systems work, hence the need to provide them with better healthy working environment. Mr Kweku Botwe, Deputy Managing Director, GWCL pledged the company's continued support for the project adding that reports on workers after testing would be kept confidential.