‘03

 

Old Mutual has developed a four-dimension strategy to manage HIV/AIDS. Old Mutual seeks to:

• Manage the business impact of the disease.
• Manage the disease in the workplace.
• Help the broader community to manage HIV/AIDS.
• Provide relevant financial services and advice.

In 2003 this strategy was embedded within the group's management practices and the business plans of all business units. HIV/AIDS management is central to all the group's activities.

This approach is informed by the gravity of the HIV/AIDS situation in South Africa, illustrated by the following statistics:

• It is predicted that the population growth rate will decline from between 2010 to 2015 as a direct consequence of AIDS deaths.
• It is estimated that one in six people of all ages will be HIV positive by 2008.
• By 2010 AIDS will account for 75% of premature mortality compared to 39% in 2000.
• Currently an estimated 11% of the South African population is HIV positive.
• There are already about 1 million AIDS orphans in South Africa.

However, dealing with HIV/AIDS is not solely about calculations and estimations, numbers and statistics. It is essentially about people living with a disease and an associated stigma. They battle against the constant prospects of early death.

It is often about witnessing individuals respond with incalculable and unfathomable courage.

Because HIV/AIDS is about people, the multi-disciplinary Old Mutual HIV/AIDS Strategy Forum, which meets monthly, is conscious of the need for sensitivity and action-oriented responses. The Forum co-ordinates the work of various HIV/AIDS working groups. It is also responsible for setting and driving the organisation's HIV/AIDS strategy and policies.

It participates in various studies, and interprets the body of studies currently under way, and it has a role in monitoring the company's HIV/AIDS claims experience. That experience thus far, owing to Old Mutual's size and the spread of its client base, is related to the national prevalence rate.