Results in HIV/AIDS fight, says BCL Mine

Correspondent | Thursday September 2, 2010 00:00

Speaking during a workshop organised by the BCL Mine Wellness Department and attended by local stakeholders at Makhubu Club, Mphathi said they have begun to see improvements in the productivity capacity of the employees who are infected and affected by the scourge.

He explained that the mine has not only streamlined HIV and AIDS but also adopted holistic wellness in the corporate strategy. He said that he is proud of the achievement they have made in their HIV/AIDS programme.

'The uptake of voluntary testing and counseling for example far exceeded our expectations as we ran out of test kits and had to replenish several times. Blood donations at the same occasion also ran into similar difficulties,' he said.   

He stated that the objective is to prevent illnesses by working on the predisposing factors so that employees can be more productive. Mphathi observed that since moving to holistic wellness, they have been able to significantly increase awareness among the employees and the community of Selebi-Phikwe through well-attended wellness fairs.

He pointed out that there are other health and wellness issues that impact on the business and the employee such as stress, occupational health, unhealthy lifestyles, fitness, and chronic illness among others. Mphathi said the mine has made a commitment to the HIV/AIDS steering committee that they will take part in the war against the pandemic. He said the leadership commitment is a strategic focus area that refers to visible and vocal presence of decision makers in leading and supporting all aspects of the organisation's response. Mphathi pointed out to the BCL management present during the workshop that it will be a reminder of their obligations towards the fight against HIV/AIDS.

'Our battle cry at BCL is that we will win the fight against HIV/AIDS. We must build partnerships and collaborative relationships with the community based organisations, private sector and regulating bodies such as the District Multi Sectorial AIDS Committee (DMSAC),' said Mphathi.