Business leaders worried about AIDS impact on African economy

Business leaders at the ongoing World Economic Forum Africa Summit 2006 held in Cape Town of South Africa have expressed concerns about the impact of HIV/AIDS on Africa's future economic growth.

Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and chief executive officer of Acumen Fund, a global non-profit venture fund operating in nearly 50 countries, said at the meeting that companies operating in Africa are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of HIV/ AIDS, which decreases productivity, breed absenteeism and raises the costs of recruitment and training.

The representatives warned that AIDS has the potential to cripple African economy, which experienced the highest average growth rate in 30 years in 2005 and is expected to grow by 5.8 percent this year.

They said with more than 25 million African people living with HIV/AIDS, accounting for up to 60 percent of the patients worldwide, and 3.2 million new infections posted last year in sub- Saharan region, business operations on the continent would be affected as the disease decimates workforces, the lifeline of many businesses.

The Standard Chartered Bank, which has extensive banking operation in Africa, for example, calculated that more than 10 percent of its Kenyan employees are off work every day, due to AIDS-related reasons ranging from being sick, caring for relatives to attending a funeral.

The poor healthcare systems and lack of doctors in the region accelerate the spread of the disease.

Only one in 25 of all the global health workers work in sub- Saharan Africa, where one tenth of the world's population inhabit. The world's poorest continent has less than one percent of the global financial resources for health, according to data released at the meeting.

The World Economic Forum Africa Summit 2006, held from May. 31 to June 2, provides an opportunity for over 700 representatives from 39 countries, including presidents of three African countries and other political and business leaders, to examine the impacts of HIV/AIDS and urge governments and companies to do more to reduce the negative effect.

Source: Xinhua