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AIDS ASIA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From:"AIDS ASIA"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 08:43:26 -0000
Subject: [AIDS ASIA] Malaysia: Code to stop stigma against HIV/AIDS
Moderators note: Malaysian Code of Practice
on Prevention and Management of HIV/AIDS At The Workplace is available at the
following url.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/laws/malaysiacop.pdf
___________
Spotlight: Code to stop stigma against HIV/AIDS
25 Mar 2007
A HIV-positive single mother was almost barred from eating at the
office canteen ... a bank officer was forced to quit his job after he
was exposed for having HIV. Statistics show HIV infection is rising
daily. TAN CHOE CHOE looks at the employment realities for the
growing number of people living with HIV.
THE results for your annual health screening are out you are HIV
positive. You are the sole-breadwinner in the family, with three
school-going children and a spouse. Once you get over the shock of
the news, you start thinking how the illness is going to affect your
life. Among the questions that run through your head at that time
will probably be: Can I continue working? Do I need to notify my
boss? Will my company fire me if they know?
What are my rights? Many of us may think that this is a far-fetched
scenario, that we will not contract HIV/AIDS because the illness is
generally among drug users. Here's a reality check not all HIV
positive people are drug users; 13.6 per cent of cases diagnosed are
through heterosexual transmission, which includes sex workers
infecting their clients or vice versa, boyfriends infecting
girlfriends, and husbands infecting wives. In short, everyone is a
potential victim.
Yet many employers in Malaysia do not think HIV/AIDS is a serious
issue, and most definitely not in the workplace, says Dr Faridah
Amin, an occupational health physician in the Industrial Health
Division of the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH). Aware of the
potential disastrous impact of the disease on the economy, the
Government, through DOSH's initiative, had launched a code of
practice to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in the workplace in September
2001.
"The code seemed relevant because the workplace is deemed an integral
part of any society and plays an important role in the wider struggle
against the disease," says Dr Faridah. It also stipulates how
employers and employees can work together to stop the stigma and
discrimination against HIV-positive people in the workplace.
The actual name of the code is "Code of Practice on Prevention and
Management of HIV/AIDS At The Workplace", but there is no legal
obligation to adopt it. To date, only 33 out of some 400,000
registered employers in the country have voluntarily adopted the
code. A recent study found that once a HIV-positive person's illness
is made public, he or she would invariably be forced to resign due to
open or tacit discrimination in the workplace. The study,
commissioned by the United Nations Country Theme Group on HIV/AIDS
Malaysia, found that there have also been cases where infected
individuals have been openly asked to leave their company.
Titled "Impact of HIV on People Living with HIV, Their Families and
Community in Malaysia", the study interviewed 94 HIV-positive people
and 36 non-HIV carriers. "Many want to continue working but the
reality is nobody wants to hire a HIV-positive person, even when he
or she has responded well to treatment," says the study's head
researcher Dr Siti Norazah Zulkifli, who is also a public health
consultant.
She says many Malaysians also do not feel comfortable working with a
HIV-positive person. "Some non-HIV carriers who agree that HIV-
positive people should be allowed to continue working prefer them to
be isolated from the `healthy' community." There are no figures
available to determine the socio-economic impact of the illness on
the country, but Malaysian Aids Council programme director Joe
Selvaretnam says the consequences of laying off a HIV-positive
individual who is still productive is "huge". "Not only will it be
psychologically traumatising and damaging to that person's health,
but if he's the sole breadwinner, overnight, you'll turn his whole
family into dependents of the state," he says.
A survey of 154 companies carried out by DOSH in 2000 found that the
level of awareness among employers on HIV/AIDS and its potential
destructive impact on business and the economy was "very low". "And
going by the adoption rate of the code today, it seems the situation
is still the same," says Dr Faridah, who is in charge of promoting
the code for adoption among employers. It also means the barrage of
facts and figures about the disease disseminated by the media to jolt
them to reality have been largely ineffective.
Not the 73,429 cases of HIV infection up till June last year; not the
daily estimated infection rate of between 18 and 20 people; and not
the fact that Asia, and South-East Asia in particular, is the hottest
region for HIV/AIDS infection in the world after the sub-Saharan
countries in the African continent. Our employers, says Dr Faridah,
are still struggling with compliance of "hard issues" like noise
level control, pollution, chemical emission and heat emission. "They
have yet to reach the level of thinking of companies in developed
countries, where they pay equal attention to `soft issues' like
healthy living and the prevention of HIV/AIDS."
Some employers also erroneously believe that they need to fork out
huge amounts of money to implement HIV/AIDS awareness programmes once
they adopt the code, adds Dr Faridah. "All educational materials are
free and many government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
are ready to help if an employer wants to run programmes related to
HIV/AIDS awareness." Some may also think there is no real "economic
benefit" from adopting the code, when all they get is a certificate
of appreciation from DOSH.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shaharudin Bardan
says about 80 per cent of MEF's registered members are employers in
the SME/SMI category. Based on that figure, he echoed Dr Faridah's
opinion about their struggle to comply with DOSH's regulations
on "hard issues" at work. "Some also find it hard to seek a balance
between the need for confidentiality in dealing with a HIV-positive
worker and at the same time, implement the policy fully in the
workplace.
"How can the code be successfully implemented if employers cannot
identify the HIV-positive workers?" He said while MEF had encouraged
its members to embrace the code since its launch, "I would not be
surprised if many of our members don't really know about the
existence of the code, much less its contents". Meanwhile, some NGOs
are calling for the code to be made compulsory.
"I feel that as long as it's a voluntary code, they won't see HIV as
a big problem in this country," says MAC's Joe. He says adopting the
code "is an investment in the right direction because you're ensuring
your workforce is informed enough to take necessary preventive
actions to avoid what is a completely preventable disease".
But Sabarudin disagrees on forcing employers to oblige by the power
of the law. "You'll scare off foreign investors, who'll think it's a
hassle to do business here with so many regulations. In the end, the
country will stand to lose."
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/Focus/20070324141025/Art
icle/index_html
Mukhotib MD
Jl. Raya Sandon No. 52 Secang, Magelang, 56195
Telepon: 0815-685-0367
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: www.mukhotibmd.vze.com
