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HIV/AIDS AND THE ENVIRONMENT : WHAT ARE THE LINKAGES? IMPACTS ON CONSERVATION CAPACITY AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

HIV/AIDS AND THE ENVIRONMENT : WHAT ARE THE LINKAGES? IMPACTS ON CONSERVATION CAPACITY AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE FORMAT. Who are KZN Wildlife? Background Information The Challenge? The Impacts What Has Been Done To Date The Road Ahead. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE

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HIV/AIDS AND THE ENVIRONMENT : WHAT ARE THE LINKAGES? IMPACTS ON CONSERVATION CAPACITY AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

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  1. HIV/AIDS AND THE ENVIRONMENT : WHAT ARE THE LINKAGES? IMPACTS ON CONSERVATION CAPACITY AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

  2. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE FORMAT • Who are KZN Wildlife? Background Information • The Challenge? • The Impacts • What Has Been Done To Date • The Road Ahead

  3. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE WHO ARE WE? • Parastatal • Part of Dept. of Environment and Agriculture • Responsible for Biodiversity Conservation in KwaZulu Natal • Receive a subsidy for Conservation Activities only • Balance of funding has to be raised or generated via Ecotourism activities

  4. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE CORE FUNCTIONS Biodiversity Conservation (incorporating Scientific Services) Conservation Partnerships Ecotourism Supported by a range of Support Services such as Human Resources, IT, Technical Services, Finance and Internal Audit

  5. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE BACKGROUND INFORMATION • 4 International Borders: • Mozambique • Swaziland • Lesotho • Coastline from Mozambique to E. Cape • 96 protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal which represents 8% of land of the Province • 86% of these protected areas have significant biodiversity value

  6. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE BACKGROUND INFORMATION • 2 World Heritage Sites: • Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (324,441 ha) • uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (242,813 ha)

  7. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE BACKGROUND INFORMATION • 6 RAMSAR sites: • Ndumo (10,117ha); • Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park which includes the 3 listed sites of the St. Lucia System, the Kosi Lakes System and Lake Sibaya (240,421 ha); • Maputaland Beaches and Reefs (84,020 ha), and • uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (242,813 ha)

  8. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE BACKGROUND INFORMATION Of great significance is that most of the protected areas are concentrated in rural areas of the Province where poverty levels are high and where there is limited access to public facilities such as clinics and hospitals

  9. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE THE CHALLENGE? • Annual Death Rate is increasing • 97% of deaths are health-related • 95% of deceased are black males between 25 and 40 years of age • Emerging trend – increased number of deaths of black females in same category

  10. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE IMPACT ON CORE FUNCTIONS CONSERVATION • Compromised operational effectiveness of labour intensive law enforcement component • Increased absenteeism and turnover • Loss of productivity • Loss of institutional memory • Loss of natural resources

  11. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE IMPACT ON CORE FUNCTIONS CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS • Risk of losing donor funding • Loss of continuity in partnerships which may have taken years to establish • Loss of indigenous knowledge systems re: traditional natural resource and land use management • Potential loss of jobs in Partnerships function • Increased land claims

  12. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE IMPACT ON CORE FUNCTIONS ECOTOURISM • Diminished domestic disposable income affects occupancy rates • Customers react badly to being served by visibly sick employees • Increased absenteeism and turnover • Compromised customer service

  13. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE IMPACT ON SUPPORT FUNCTIONS • Diminished operational effectiveness • Increased administration directly related to increased claims experience on benefits funds • Decreased return on training investment • Increased demand for Employee Assistance (EAP) • Increased political and social pressure from principals

  14. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE ORGANISATIONAL VISIBILITY • HIV/AIDS is included as a separate line item in the organisation’s Strategic Plan with specific Key Performance Areas, Key Performance Indicators, Deliverables and Measurables. This Strategic Plan is tabled annually at Provincial Level to the Portfolio Committee and the Public Finance Committee. • We have, for the first time, managed to ring-fence funding for the specific purpose of improving our HIV/AIDS programme. • An HIV/AIDS Committee has been established at which both management and organised labour are represented, and who have been involved in the development of the organisation’s AIDS policy.

  15. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE BENEFIT FUNDS STRUCTURES • One of our four retirement funds has removed the 3 to 6-month exclusion clause for all permanently and totally disabled employees where employees have a CD4 count of 200 or lower. • The benefits structures of our retirement funds are being reviewed and options to either cap benefits or to introduce member-level choice are being considered. • Organisation has agreed to compulsory medical aid membership w.e.f. April 2003 • Recent negotiations with one of our 3 medical aid schemes has resulted in all expenses incurred at State Hospitals including ART being covered. Negotiations with the other 2 schemes are ongoing.

  16. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS • 3 Occupational Health Nurses (OHN’s) have been employed who either have pharmacological post-graduate degrees together with a Social Worker who provides an in-house counselling service. • Registration of 3 regional clinics which will co-ordinate the purchase (at cost) and prescription of drugs and supplements for the benefit of employees to improve quality of life as well as life expectancy. • Conducting medicals necessary for the processing of disability claims. (The number of admitted claims has begun to decline as claims experience increases and requirements for admission become more stringent.)

  17. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Wellness Management : Medical OBJECTIVES To enable terminally ill employees to continue working productively longer than they would have without intervention; To assist with early detection of STI’s, HIV/AIDS and opportunistic infections, and To establish the baseline medical status of employees. FREQUENCY Upon request and/or referral Continued . . .

  18. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Peer Educator Training OBJECTIVES To provide a support structure for infected and affected employees To provide support for professional staff to ensure sustainability of the educative programs FREQUENCY First intake of 75 employees being trained. Next intake to be determined after a period of monitoring and evaluation of the intervention’s performance. Continued . . .

  19. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Basic Education Programme OBJECTIVES To prevent the spread of STI’s and HIV/AIDS, and To prevent unfair discrimination against People Living With Aids (PLWA) FREQUENCY Ongoing basis as per OHN’s visitation schedule As and when necessary by Peer Educators on-site Continued . . .

  20. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Basic Information Programme OBJECTIVES To communicate the rights of infected persons, To provide information on services both within and outside the workplace, and To provide a referral service. FREQUENCY Ongoing basis as per OHN’s visitation schedule As and when necessary by Peer Educators on-site Continued . . .

  21. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Condom Distribution Program OBJECTIVES To provide both male and female condoms, making them freely and readily available in the workplace, and To provide education on the correct way to use condoms. FREQUENCY Ongoing basis as per OHN’s visitation schedule As and when necessary by Peer Educators on-site Continued . . .

  22. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Voluntary Testing OBJECTIVES To provide for early detection and management of opportunistic infections; To prevent mother-to-child transmission; To encourage those that are negative to remain negative and those that are positive to adopt a healthy lifestyle FREQUENCY Upon request and/or referral Continued . . .

  23. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE PROGRAMS PROGRAMME Voluntary Counselling OBJECTIVES To provide counselling for employees for testing purposes and on an ongoing basis to provide support; To assist with Estate Planning, i.e. drafting wills, provision for orphans and financial planning, and To assist with the organisation’s long-term manpower planning. FREQUENCY Upon request and/or referral Continued . . .

  24. THE ROAD AHEAD PARTNERSHIPS! • The commencement of an Impact Assessment Analysis and KAP survey in partnership with HEARD at the University of Natal. Funding for this project has been made available by USAID. • OHN’s continue to access rural hospitals and clinics to assess their service and diagnostic capabilities so as to form partnerships with them in the care of employees. • Forging partnerships with other provincial departments such as the Provincial Aids Action Unit in order to maximise logistical efficiency of programmes being rolled out to rural areas.

  25. THE ROAD AHEAD PARTNERSHIPS! • Exploring ways in which our distribution network and infrastructure could be used for the benefit of NGO’s, CBO’s and other agencies as well as for our own employees e.g. E-Pap. • The recruitment of a Traditional Medicine Co-ordinator whose purpose it will be to co-ordinate the organisation’s contribution to the development and implementation of a medium- to long-term provincial strategic approach to conserve medicinal plant and animal species and the systems in which they occur, while capacitating those who use the resources.

  26. THE ROAD AHEAD PARTNERSHIPS! • Adding our voice to groups lobbying for the inclusion of HIV/AIDS as a module for all Environmental Sciences diplomas/degrees. • Profile and review all staff accommodation provided for staff required to live within protected areas, review access for family visitation purposes, and securing funding for necessary alterations.

  27. THE ROAD AHEAD The battle against HIV and AIDS will only be won by millions of initiatives at grassroots level. Some will be more effective than others, but every little bit will count. AIDS : The Challenge for South Africa Alan Whiteside and Clem Sunter

  28. EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! Barbara Meier Deputy Director : Human Resources meierb@kznwildlife.com Visit our website: www.kznwildlife.com

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