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Winner: Workplace Testing & Counseling
REGION: SOUTH AFRICA
INDUSTRY TYPE: COMMUNICATIONS
WEBSITE: www.telkom.co.za
Telkom combats HIV/AIDS among its employees and their families through the Thuso HIV/AIDS Workplace Program, which provides them with education, awareness, testing, and treatment. The company’s successful campaigns have encouraged many of its employees to undergo voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and many of those individuals who tested HIV positive have subsequently accessed treatment programs.
Goal
To significantly reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS for Telkom’s employees and support and care for HIV infected and affected employees—as well as their spouses, dependents and children.
Program Scope
The Thuso HIV/AIDS Workplace Program reaches all of Telkom’s more than 30,000 employees and their families—more than 70% of whom live in regions with HIV prevalence rates higher than 30%. The VCT program rotates regularly, reaching each of the company’s 1,674 sites, yards and buildings every 12-15 months.
Outcomes
- 65% of spouses and partners of Telkom employees have taken an HIV test and knows his/her status.
- Since the VCT program inception in 2004, 19,896 of 31,720 employees have been tested. 568 were found to be HIV positive.
- 81.1% of HIV positive employees take part in the Chronic Disease Management Program at Telkom or government programs. 61 spouses and 4 children are also registered.
- Since the inception of the Thuso 24/7 Call Center, 13,813 calls have been handled, dealing with case management, VCT follow-up and personal health advice.
Telkom is Africa’s largest integrated communication company, providing communication solutions to a range of customers. Telkom is represented in nine provincial regions in South Africa with 31,720 employees.
THE WINNING PROGRAM
Telkom’s workplace testing and counseling program is exemplary for its broad scale and its focus on destigmatizing HIV. Through Telkom’s workplace program, employees and their families are provided comprehensive general health screenings that include an integrated voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) component aimed at reducing the stigma of getting tested.
The free-of-charge VCT provided at both on- and off-site facilities is a major component of Telkom’s comprehensive workplace intervention—called the Thuso HIV/AIDS Workplace Program— which also provides free antiretroviral treatment to those who test HIV positive and general health services for all employees. The company’s monitoring and testing is comprehensive—including tracking of initial and repeat testing to properly gauge VCT uptake rates. The company’s VCT uptake of 65 percent is well above average for the size of its workforce.
One key feature of the company’s program is the effort to destigmatize VCT. Through the Ambassador Program, which began in 2007, the company encourages employees living with HIV/AIDS and who have declared their status, to share their experiences and knowledge with their colleagues in order to further reduce stigma in the workplace. To improve VCT participation, Thuso launched an awareness campaign with the slogan: “Your life is in your hands. Know your health and HIV status,” targeting workers through brochures, posters, and events.
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Integrating VCT into General Health Screenings
By incorporating the VCT program into health and wellness interventions that are planned, designed and implemented based on information generated from the Telkom Integrated Health Risk
Profile, emphasis remains on general health and wellness promotion, not just HIV testing.
Scaling up Testing to Reach Families of Employees
Telkom’s VCT program reaches not only its employees but also their families. Through a combination of on- and off-site screenings, the company has enabled 65 percent of its workforce— a significant number given the company’s size—and their spouses to take part in general health screenings and VCT. After several children of employees were found to be HIV positive through screenings, they were placed on HAART.
BROADLY APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES
Health Screening and VCT Reduces Sick Leave
The Thuso program combats the impact of sick leave incidents, which helps to significantly increase labor productivity cost. The program has successfully reduced sick leave from an average of 25-40 days (with no service provided) to 5-6 days.
Integrating Testing into General Screenings Lowers Stigma
Combining VCT with other health screening tests—such as cholesterol, glucose, and free eye exams—has helped destigmitize the VCT component of the program, by not singling out HIV testing.