Medical Care and Treatment Provide Relief and Hope

Combating HIV means including medical services at an early stage. The variety of corporate medical services is significant. Some companies have set up in-house treatment services with a doctor, while others purely offer first aid in their health facility. Some enterprises rely on private and public health facilities nearby.

The focal areas in health care are:

Risk Reduction through Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

There is a strong link between sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV. The presence of an untreated STI - such as gonorrhoea, a chlamydial infection, syphilis, herpes or genital warts - enhances the risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV. The same sexual behaviours that place someone at risk of contracting an STI (unprotected anal, vaginal and oral sex) also pose a risk of contracting HIV.

Treatment of Opportunistic Diseases

The immune system of people living with HIV is usually impaired and thus particularly susceptible to opportunistic infections and diseases, such as flu-like illnesses, pneumonia, skin diseases or tuberculosis. To improve the quality of life of HIV-positive people, the treatment of these opportunistic diseases forms an important part of workplace programmes. Providing HIV-positive persons with nutritional supplements is another supportive and relatively affordable medical intervention.

Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT)

Anti-retroviral drugs inhibit the replication of the HI-virus. They delay deterioration of the immune system, prolong life and restore quality of life. HIV-positive pregnant women and their babies receive special ARV treatment to inhibit the transmission of the virus during labour and breastfeeding.

Effective HIV/AIDS care requires anti-retroviral therapy as a treatment option. People living with HIV benefit by having restored health, are more economically productive, and function better socially. ART contributes to decreasing the stigma attached to AIDS and boosts prevention efforts.