Volkswagen uses game to fight AIDS in South Africa
|
|
The game the school children are playing in this South African town looks like Trivial Pursuit. But the subject is anything but trivial.
The boardgame was created by Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) - a subsidiary of German car maker Volkswagen - to teach children about HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Pregnancy.
With the roll of a dice, myths are dispelled as children ask and answer questions. The game’s creators hope it will also banish the stigma that AIDS sufferers often experience.
“The game is very similar to Trivial Pursuit, with questions about HIV/AIDS, rape, TB (Tuberculosis) and Pregnancy, but pertinent to that age group, without being pornographic,” said Alex Govender, head of health services at VWSA.
South Africa has the world’s highest HIV/AIDS caseload with more than five million people estimated to carry the virus - one in nine of its 45 million people.
The government has been criticised for failing to recognize the scope of the problem and for reacting too slowly.
Companies like Volkswagen, whose own workers are victims of the disease, are spending millions of rand on treatment and awareness programmes. Diamond giant De Beers, power utility Eskom and miner AngloGold Ashanti are also running such schemes.
Five schools are taking part in the pilot project for VWSA’s new game in the Eastern Cape industrial town of Uitenhage, the company’s headquarters. The children taking part are aged between 11 and 13.
In South Africa, many children engage in sexual activity from a very early age. They are also an easy target for rapists in a country where around 50,000 people are raped every year.
“I have learnt that we should not have unprotected sex. AIDS is dangerous and one should not have sex until a certain age,” said 13-year-old Jody Afrika, a pupil at Muir College who had been playing the game.
WORKERS SUFFERING TOO
VWSA is one of seven major passenger car manufacturers in South Africa and produces around 500 units a day. It has invested over 2 billion rand ($309.6 million) on its production facilities in the past five years.
With 22 percent of the domestic passenger vehicle market, VWSA plans to export 40,000 units this year, a rise of about 45 percent. The company employs about 6,000 people, of whom around 6 percent are HIV-positive.
Managing Director Andreas Tostmann says the company has spent around four million rand ($619,200) on its AIDS programme, which started four years ago.
“HIV/AIDS is a problem and as a company we have to address it,” Tostmann said. “We are committed to spending more money.”
First, Volkswagen carried out a prevalence survey using anonymous saliva tests for every worker.
“That test revealed that we had a prevalence at the time of 6 percent, meaning we had 300 employees who were HIV-positive,” said Govender, adding that those infected ranged from shopfloor workers to management.
Then, the company offered voluntary tests to workers. Govender said the response from white-collar workers was patchy, with some believing they are immune to the disease.
“The biggest challenge still remains the stigma about the disease. Messages from our leadership in government, as far as HIV is concerned - questioning its source and whether the virus causes AIDS - are not helping,” he said.
OFFERING HELP
South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and other officials were criticised for playing down the place of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the fight against AIDS. In 2003, the government bowed to pressure and launched a public ARV programme.
About 42,000 South Africans were estimated to be receiving the life-saving drugs through the public sector by the end of March this year.
Govender says VWSA has so far tested 60 percent of its workforce, with 126 employees on its ARV programme. Free testing is also offered to the partners and children of VWSA employees.
VWSA also gives help - such as food parcels - to children orphaned by AIDS, and has extended its awareness and treatment programme to nearby Port Elizabeth, where up to 35 percent of women at antenatal clinics have tested HIV-positive.
Other workplace interventions include testing people with Tuberculosis for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
“If we can make an early identification that worker can remain active and productive for a very long time,” Govender said. “We can win this battle against the disease and people must not be fooled by the wrong messages from the leadership.”
Print Version
Tell-a-Friend comments powered by Disqus
