...Anglo American PLC in South Africa: What do you do when costs reach epidemic proportions? Chapter Five Case Case 5-1 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall AIDS in South Africa • Sub-Saharan Africa is home to just over 10 percent of the world’s population and to 60 percent of all people infected with HIV • Every day 1,000 South Africans contract HIV and another 800 die • AIDS has also had a devastating effect on the country’s economy • Between 1992 and 2002, the South African economy lost $7 billion annually—around 2 percent of GDP—as a result of AIDS-related worker deaths Case 5-2 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Anglo American Operations in South Africa • Anglo American PLC is a mining conglomerate operating in 61 countries • Founded in 1917 as the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, it was South Africa’s first home-based public limited company • Anglo American employs 80,000 people in its main operations and another 44,000 at regional subsidiaries • Anglo American controls over 25 percent of all shares traded on the South African stock market Case 5-3 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Anglo American and ART • Anglo American was one of the first corporations to develop a comprehensive, proactive strategy to combat the destruction of the disease on its workforce • The incentive for Anglo American’s ART program largely came from the failure of its...
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...The impact of HIV & AIDS in Africa Two-thirds of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, although this region contains little more than 10% of the world’s population.1 AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the continent. The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected. During 2008 alone, an estimated 1.4 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.2 Since the beginning of the epidemic more than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS.3 Although access to antiretroviral treatment is starting to lessen the toll of AIDS, fewer than half of Africans who need treatment are receiving it.4 The impact of AIDS will remain severe for many years to come. The impact on the health sector In all heavily affected countries the AIDS epidemic is adding additional pressure on the health sector. As the epidemic matures, the demand for care for those living with HIV rises, as does the toll of AIDS on health workers. In sub-Saharan Africa, the direct medical costs of AIDS (excluding antiretroviral therapy) have been estimated at about US$30 per year for every person infected, at a time when overall public health spending is less than US$10 per year for most African countries.5 The effect on hospitals [pic] Nurses working on the HIV ward at Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda ...
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...Anglo American PLC in South America BACKROUND: According to (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan), Anglo American was founded in 1917 as the Anglo American Corporation of South America. In 2002, Anglo American made a landmark decision to provide free antiretroviral therapy (ART) to HIV-infected employees. In 2007, Anglo American PLC, at the time one of the world’s largest gold miners, found itself facing a threat that, although by no means new, defies most traditional categories of things that complicate business – an HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa, the world’s largest gold producer. Anglo American PLC is a diversified mining conglomerate operating in 45 countries and employing 107,000 permanent employees to produce precious metals, base metals, and bulk metals. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to just over 10 percent of the world’s population and 60 percent of all people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS and suffers the world’s highest rates of HIV infection – approximately 5.5 million- in a population of 49 million. Every day, almost 1000 South Africans die from AIDS-related diseases. ISSUE: Can Anglo American PLC and other corporations continue the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic so that it does not affect business operations? ANALYSIS: Yes: 1) According to (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan), Anglo American PLC recognized the threat of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Anglo was one of the...
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...Western Drug Companies and the AIDS Epidemic in South Africa In December 1997, the government of South Africa passed a law that authorized two controversial practices. One, called parallel importing, allowed importers in South Africa to purchase drugs from the cheapest source available, regardless of whether the patent holders had given their approval or not. Thus South Africa asserted its right to import “generic versions” of drugs that are still patent protected. The government did this because it claimed to be unable to afford the high cost of medicines that were patent protected. The other practice, called compulsory licensing, permitted the South African government to license local companies to produce cheaper versions of drugs whose patents are held by foreign companies, irrespective of whether the patent holder agreed. The law seemed to be in violation of international agreements to protect property rights, including a World Trade Organization agreement on patents to which South Africa is a signatory. South Africa, however, insisted that the law was necessary given its own health crisis and the high cost of patented medicines. By 1997, South Africa was wrestling with an AIDS crisis of enormous proportions. It was estimated that over 3 million of the country's 45 million people were infected with the virus at the time, more than in any other country. However, although the AIDS epidemic in South Africa was seen as primary reason for the new law, the law itself was applied...
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...Western Drug Companies and the AIDS Epidemic in South Africa In December 1997, the government of South Africa passed a law that authorized two controversial practices. One, called parallel importing, allowed importers in South Africa to purchase drugs from the cheapest source available, regardless of whether the patent holders had given their approval or not. Thus South Africa asserted its right to import “generic versions” of drugs that are still patent protected. The government did this because it claimed to be unable to afford the high cost of medicines that were patent protected. The other practice, called compulsory licensing, permitted the South African government to license local companies to produce cheaper versions of drugs whose patents are held by foreign companies, irrespective of whether the patent holder agreed. The law seemed to be in violation of international agreements to protect property rights, including a World Trade Organization agreement on patents to which South Africa is a signatory. South Africa, however, insisted that the law was necessary given its own health crisis and the high cost of patented medicines. By 1997, South Africa was wrestling with an AIDS crisis of enormous proportions. It was estimated that over 3 million of the country's 45 million people were infected with the virus at the time, more than in any other country. However, although the AIDS epidemic in South Africa was seen as primary reason for the new law, the law itself was applied...
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...AIDS: The Modern Black Plague The AIDS epidemic has reached a crisis level in Africa and needs to be addressed by the United States. Efforts to teach the population AIDS prevention, reduce the price of certain medications, and influence the local leaders to teach their citizens about AIDS should be considered by the United States. Along with those efforts, the United States needs to help with the aftermath of the epidemic. In order to fully understand what the United States needs to do to help, we must first realize why the AIDS epidemic has risen to a crisis level in Africa. When the HIV virus matures it turns into what is known as AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). It is a life threatening disease that when contracted is eventually fatal. There are treatments and medications that can help slow the painful symptoms of the disease, but so far research has not found a cure. Since the early 80’s AIDS has become quite a scary issue because of its life-threatening nature. Unlike the common cold or other viruses transmitted through the air, AIDS is only transmitted by sexual contact or by the sharing of needles. AIDS, though a worldwide problem has now climbed to an epidemic level in Africa. CW Henderson, writing for AIDS Weekly, reports that, “70% of the world’s AIDS cases are located in sub-Saharan Africa”(20). Anderson goes on to report that, “The disease kills 6,000 people a day in Africa, has orphaned about 15% of children in the worst-hit cities, and by some...
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... the largest metropolitan area in the continent of Africa. The population of the main metropolitan area is 1,907,229 ( WorldBook encycl.130). Johannesburg is also one of the world richest gold fields. Despite these positive aspects, Johannesburg is a city with a dismal future, because it is suffering from one of the world's worst AIDS epidemics. Every Saturday, nearby cemeteries are busy with the arrival of people who have died from AIDS. Funeral directors state that about 30 or 40 people are buried every week, as a result of AIDS. It is said that in South Africa, one of every ten people has AIDS. Some 17 million people in Africa have died representing almost 80% of AIDS deaths world wide. This is the equivalent of the combined populations of New York City and Los Angeles (www.Time/2001/aidsafrica). There is a conspiracy of silence fueling the spread of HIV in South Africa. Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, and has one of the fastest growing infection rates AIDS is now South Africa's leading cause of death. Last year it accounted for 40% of all deaths between the ages of 15 and 49 (US.news2.yimg.com). By the year 2010, HIV prevalence in adults is projected to reach 25% of the total population. South Africa is projected to have the highest AIDS death rate until 2015. At that point, the population will have decreased to the point that the death rate will no longer be as high as in other areas. South Africa has a population close to 40 million people - an estimated...
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...Aids is becoming a worldwide epidemic. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This virus causes the body’s immune system to be weak and useless in fighting even the smallest illnesses. Aids became prevalent in the USA in early 1980’s when the center for disease control recognized a rare virus among five healthy gay men. “This marked the first official reports of what became known as the AIDS epidemic.” ( http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/aids-timeline/) AIDS/HIV is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The rapid spread of this virus is largely due to unprotected sex, blood transfusions, IV drug use, and mother to child. A lack of education, social economics, and access to health care are among the major factors that play a large role in this Global epidemic. Underdeveloped countries such as South Africa, Brazil, and Kenya are among some of the largest prevalence. The United States is not excluded from the list of countries facing this wide spread disease. This disease has no boundaries and affects every country. The lack of education in the subject of how the virus spreads as well as the lack of literacy in a nation is an important factor in the spread of the HIV virus. Due to the high stigmatization of people living with HIV and the world wide misunderstanding of the disease causes many people and governments to just ignore this disease. Fear of the unknown adds to the fuel and causes...
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...AIDS in South Africa Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS is the most deadly disease known to man. More than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide since the first cases were reported in 1981 and 33.4 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS. According to Advert, an international HIV and AIDS charity, almost 70% of the people in the world who are infected with AIDS live in Sub Saharan Africa. And in Sub Saharan Africa, South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world. Yet with all of this, the greatest tragedy yet may be the ignorance of AIDS. The large majority of Africans believe strongly that you can get rid of AIDS one of two ways; showering after intercourse with an infected person or having intercourse with a virgin. The latter is a major cause in the number of rapes that take place in Africa, especially child rapes. Even the current president of South Africa, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, is not exempt from this statistic. In December of 2005 he was charged with the rape of a woman who he knew to be HIV positive, in an interview he stated that he took a shower afterward to reduce the chance of infection. What is even more shocking about this is that Zuma, at the time was also the head of the National AIDS Council for South Africa. The groundbreaking article released at the end of 2002 by the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the “Impact of HIV/Aids on adult mortality in South Africa” report is the first...
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...Public Health Challenge of AIDS Public health seeks to prevent disease, prolong life, and promote health through organized efforts of society, organizations, and community. The goal of public health is to create a safer and healthier society through prevention of possible health issues to society, while also helping to respond to health challenges that are negatively impacting the public. One of the greatest public health challenges of the current century is HIV/AIDS, which kills millions of people worldwide each year. In developed nations, there has been a reduced death rate from the disease due to increased access to antiretroviral therapy which has been very successful in prolonging the lives of those infected with HIV. In developing nations, there is less access to this treatment because of the lack of technology the nations possess, and due to the high costs associated with the treatment. There are different theories of public health and disease causation that changed from the 19th to 20th to now 21st century, which influenced and can explain certain policies that were made for handling HIV/AIDS. Policymaking for this deadly virus also came with the stigmatization of certain groups of people, and these stereotypes about people with HIV/AIDS even hampered policymaking to an extent. “The Age of AIDS” is a PBS Frontline documentary that looks into the disease and the public health response to it, showing how all of this really worked. There are many theories of disease...
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...Chelsea Johnson Bio 111 Dr. Hall HIV AIDS in Southeastern U.S United States Statistics show that the AIDS epidemic began in 1981. Since then 1.7 million Americans have been infected with HIV. A number of 583,298 U.S. citizens have died due to AIDS-related causes. 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV and don’t even know it. An estimated 21% of people living with HIV are undiagnosed. AIDS spread so fast that every 9.5 minutes; someone in the U.S. is infected with HIV. The leading cause of the spreading disease is said to be gay and bisexual men. Gay and bisexual men continue to spread the HIV infection. They are accounted for an estimated 53% of new HIV infections. Also, African-Americans and Latinos are affected by HIV and AIDS as well. However, Blacks are accounted for 45% of new HIV infections in 2006. There is 47% of Black living with the disease and they make up only 12% of the U.S. population. Latinos account for 17% of new infections. They comprise 15% of the U.S. population. Whites represent 35% of new infections and account for 66% of the total population (HIV/AIDS Facts). The AIDS case rate for African Americans is more than 9 times that of whites. Also the HIV rate is 7 times greater among blacks than whites. Survival after an AIDS diagnosis is lower for blacks than any other racial/ethnic group. The largest share of any age group is young adults and teens between 13 and 29 that represent 34% of new HIV infections. Black teens that become affected represent...
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...and it can be understood if one was to assess the social structure and the availability of resources in the society. The most affected persons are those who live in the lower strata of the social stratification due to inequalities that comes with social structure. This paper serves to explain that HIV and AIDS is a social problem of poverty and it also looks at other factors such as religion, promiscuity and child rights which also result in the spread of the disease. It is undisputed to say that poverty is implicated in the prevalence in most developing world. Because these countries are generally poor people are normally forced to engage in activities that end up putting them at the risk of HIV. United Nations (2004) revealed that in South Africa more than 6 million people where living with HIV. The paper also revealed that the majority number who were affected were blacks who are generally poor who have no proper housing facilities, mal-nutritional, lack of safe water. Further research has suggested that Botswana and Zimbabwe have high prevalence of the disease due to the poor conditions which prevails in these countries. In Zimbabwe around 2 million people are said to be contracting the disease and an assessment shows that those who are infected are mainly the poor people as compared with those who stay in low density suburbs. The general consensus is that poor people are pushed into risk behavior such as prostitution where they tend to sell their bodies for money so that they...
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...Impact of Globalization on the Health Sector in South Africa After the Apartheid era, massive inequalities in income, health status, access to health care and other social services continued to dominate in South Africa. The Apartheid era was a system of racial segregation that was implemented in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Due to colonization, whites had ruled South Africa for several centuries, which resulted in the creation of a system that was constructed to serve as a legal framework for continued economic and political dominance by people of European descent (WHO 2003: Antiretroviral Therapy). The apartheid era came to an end as a consequence of both inner and global pressure and South Africa’s new democratic government. The new government claims that improving the access to health care is a main priority noting, “emphasis should be placed on reaching … the most vulnerable” (Department of Health 1997:13). Giving access to health care is becoming an even greater challenge. South Africa was, and is still facing an exploding HIV/AIDS epidemic that, if anything, is highly associated with health care demands. Today, there are more than 5.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, this accounts for more than 21.5% of the entire population (CIA World Fact book: 2006). This paper aims to understand how the health care sector has dealt with the challenges faced in dealing with immense inequalities and a growing epidemic in the context of globalization. Furthermore...
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...with high levels of negative health outcomes, how well they are being addressed, and what social, political, and economic factors contribute to such health disparities. South Africa is a nation that has complex health care needs and shortcomings even though it is the second wealthiest nation in Africa. Similar to the United States, with a health care system favoring those of certain ethnicities and social status, many others are left with healthcare that is inaccessible and unaffordable. However, the divide in South America is unlike any other nation. 2011 census data shows the majority of South African’s are African, at 79.2% of the population, colored and white, which make up 8.9%, and Indian and Asian races make up the remaining population at 2.5%. ("South Africa's population," 2014) South Africa is a nation that is infamous for the Apartheid movement that is one of the greatest examples of racial segregation in history. Poverty and inequality created by racial and gender segregation were meant to dismantle the divided social structures with the election of Nelson Mandela’s in 1994. Though the movement made progression relative the state of the affairs prior to his election, enormous gaps in wealth have remained among the black and rural communities relative to the white, urban population. South Africa is considered a middle-income nation, but health outcomes are worse than those of low-income nations in the region. The...
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...WESTERN DRUG COMPANIES AND THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN SOUTH AFRICA | | | | | | | | INTRODUCTION The AIDS epidemic in South Africa is at an extreme where 4.2 million of the country’s 43 million citizens are afflicted. This translates into one in every ten citizens being infected with the virus. Additionally 34 million Sub Saharan African citizens have been afflicted and 11.5 million have died and that total accounts for 83% of the world’s AIDS related deaths. Treatment is available in the form of an anti-retroviral, but it is very costly and as such unaffordable for the already impoverished nations in Africa. The AIDS crisis and the expensive treatment have caused the government of South Africa to pass laws authorising the practice of parallel importing and compulsory licensing. Parallel importing allows importers to purchase the medication from the cheapest source whether or not the patent holders gave approval and compulsory licensing allows the government to license local companies to produce cheaper versions of the drug patented by foreign companies with or without their consent. The passing of the law by the South African government caused a legal dispute with the US drug companies regarding intellectual property rights, compulsory licensing and parallel importing. The dispute caused a debate among public health officials, activists, law makers and the drug companies over the importance of public health versus corporate profits and the bad public relations...
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