Car maker takes the lead in fighting Aids

UITENHAGE - The game the school children are playing in the South African town of Uitenhage looks like Trivial Pursuit. But the subject is anything but trivial.

The boardgame was created by Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) - a subsidiary of German the car maker - 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 patients often experience.

"The game is very similar to Trivial Pursuit, with questions about HIV/Aids, rape, TB 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 recognise 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 dollars 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 Uitenhage, the company's headquarters. The children are aged 11 to 13.

In South Africa, many children engage in sex from a very early age. They are also an easy target for rapists.

"I have learned 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.

VWSA is one of seven major car manufacturers in South Africa and produces about 500 vehicles a day. It employs about 6000 people, of whom about 6 per cent are HIV-positive.

"HIV/Aids is a problem and as a company we have to address it," said managing director Andreas Tostmann.

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 per cent, meaning we had 300 employees who were HIV-positive," said Mr Govender, adding that those infected ranged from shopfloor workers to management.

Then, the company offered voluntary tests to workers. Mr Govender said the response from white-collar workers was patchy, with some believing they were 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."

President Thabo Mbeki and other officials were criticised for playing down the place of anti-retroviral (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 at the end of March this year.

Mr Govender says VWSA has so far tested 60 per cent of its workforce, with 126 employees on its ARV programme. Free testing is also offered to thepartners 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 per cent of women at antenatal clinics have tested HIV-positive.

- REUTERS