Plans to establish a business coalition against HIV/AIDS initiated by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) are at an advanced stage.

A one-day workshop was held recently at the Seaview Hotel in Senegambia that brought together managers, CEOs, directors and other heads and representatives of institutions in the private sector, the civil society, and the public sector, to interface for the purpose of establishing a business coalition against HIV and AIDS.

The coalition seeks to transform the business response to HIV/AIDS and promote HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes for the workplace, as well as create innovative partnerships with government and the civil society, said Mr Alieu Jammeh, Director of the National Aids Secretariat (NAS), who delivered a speech on the objectives and relevance of the coalition to private and public companies.

This process can commence by developing workplace policy or HIV policy,” he said. “This policy, whether as a stand-alone policy or as part of a larger policy addressing non-discrimination of life-threatening illnesses, defines your company’s position and practices as they relate to staff/workers with HIV infection. Developing a workplace policy on HIV/AIDS can help de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS among staff/workers and create an environment where staff/workers feel comfortable seeking more information on the disease.”

He therefore urged the partners to take the business coalition seriously by registering and making it a reality.

Deputising for the permanent secretary of the Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment, Mr Sambou K. Barrow of the Department of Trade, said their department recognises the role of GCCI as a key player in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“We want to assure them [GCCI and the private sector] of our continued collaboration and support in this noble humanitarian course,” he said, adding: “Let me seize the opportunity to inform you that plans are on the way to establish HIV/AIDS at workplace project in the Department of State. I therefore call on private enterprises to make a strong commitment to join the business coalition on HIV/AIDS workplace policy.”

Mr Barrow thanked H.E. President Yahya Jammeh for his breakthrough in the struggle to find a successful treatment for HIV/AIDS.

“This is indeed a laudable achievement which is a source of pride not only for Gambians but also for all Africans,” he noted.

In his presentation at the workshop, the UNAIDS Country Officer in The Gambia, Mr Nuha Ceesay, said that about 24.7 million people, including children and adults, in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV. This alarming figure of HIV infections and the deaths caused by AIDS, he added, have impacted negatively on the workforce in Africa. Absenteeism, morbidity on the job, strain on management resources, loss of workplace cohesion, ill workplace performance and experience, are some of the consequential harms that HIV and AIDS cause on the workforce.

Mr Ceesay, who presented a paper on The Road to Private Sector Participation in Response to HIV and AIDS: The Case for a Business Coalition, called on stakeholders in the private and public institutions, and the civil society, to take time by the forelock by joining the coalition and make it a reality.

The CEO of GCCI, Mr Mam Cherno Jallow, delivered the opening remarks on the occasion, and Mrs Beatrice A. Prom, GCCI Principal Communication Officer, moderated the discourse. “Together we can do it,” she underscored.