Regional health threats

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New impetus is being given to peer education, a key element of AngloGold Ashanti's HIV/AIDS prevention programmes. As the name suggests, peer education brings together people of equal standing in the workplace to directly influence safe sexual behaviour. AngloGold Ashanti trained its first peer educators in 2001 and has been using them successfully since then. The company is now developing greater capacity in its HIV/AIDS workplace department and moving towards establishing formal accredited in-house training, using the bridging services of an external provider Education Training and Counselling (ETC) which has South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accreditation. ETC has a slightly different emphasis – mainly on managing the progress of the disease, and the importance of early diagnosis. This is especially important since anti-retroviral treatment (ART), as an aid to slowing the progression of the disease from HIV to end-stage AIDS, is most effective if administered in the early stages. The effectiveness of peer educators, in encouraging people to undergo voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), is now being measured.

"A diary system has been introduced to monitor the activities of peer educators and to gauge their success," says Buti Kulwane, HIV/AIDS workplace programme manager. At this stage a monitoring tool, by way of a tear-off strip which the educator gives to the client to present at VCT, measures how many people report for testing following peer education sessions, as well as the source of the referral. Of AngloGold Ashanti's 32,000 employees in the South Africa region, 30% are estimated to be HIV positive, yet only 3,250 are currently attending the wellness programme, and 934 of these are currently on ART, both of which are offered at the West Wits and Vaal River operations. AngloGold Ashanti's 2005 target of 20% VCT attendance had been exceeded by October 2005, with 7,590 employees having tested at that stage. The majority of them motivated to attend VCT as a result of VCT promotions and campaigns; 17% through having had VCT previously, and 8% through peer educators. However, since AngloGold Ashanti believes that peer education is ultimately one of the most sustainable prevention programmes, it is aiming for a much higher percentage of peer education referrals in 2006.

To achieve this, the company is working towards a ratio of 1:60 peer educators, more than doubling its current 1:110 ratio. Between April (when the 2005 courses started) and November 2005, 265 peer educators completed training. This number will have to be boosted to 550 in order to improve on the current ratio, which Kulwane believes is achievable. As a result, classes may be held bi-monthly in future, instead of monthly, to accommodate as many people as possible. Also being mooted is recognition of prior learning (RPL) for those who score highly – 70 to 80% – in the pre-peer education programme test and the introduction of training in African languages to accommodate those whose grasp of English is limited. ETC has also developed a 36-week programme for peer educators to take into the workplace after training.

This programme, currently being piloted at the Anglogold Health Service (AHS) hospital at West Wits, discusses a wider range of topics including company HIV/AIDS policy; peer educators and their function; and the immune system. There is also a move to integrate HIV/AIDS into health and safety programmes, so that peer education is recognised and supported by workplace supervisors. Kulwane believes that the more interest and encouragement there is from individual business units and management, the more motivated peer educators are likely to be.