HIV/AIDS
In January 2005, Chevron formally launched a companywide, global HIV/AIDS policy that strives to address the serious health risk this disease poses for our employees, their dependents and the communities in which they live and work. Implementation of this policy will continue throughout 2006 and beyond.
In brief, our global policy on HIV/AIDS affirms that employees suffering from HIV/AIDS are protected by the company's existing policies on discrimination and harassment. It also states that employees and their dependents, where provided under the terms of the employees' respective benefit plans, will have access to treatment and support. In addition, under the policy, we plan to offer workplace and community-based education, awareness, prevention and treatment programs reflective of local needs and immediate priorities.
Our efforts in 2005 to implement our global HIV/AIDS policy led to the following outcomes:
- Full-time employees were hired for the companywide implementation of the policy.
- Thirty-three regional coordinators were appointed to help oversee implementation of the policy in areas where our employees are concentrated.
- Regional coordinators conducted situation analyses at the local level to assess infection rates; available support and medical benefits; and whether education, awareness, prevention and treatment programs already exist.
- A Web site was established to enable coordinators to share best practices. This allows earlier successful initiatives conducted for more than a decade by our business units in South Africa, Angola, Nigeria and Southeast Asia to be shared throughout the company.
Developing Plans and Timelines in 2006
Based on findings from each situation analysis, coordinators are working with business units to develop action plans and milestone timelines that will focus on the HIV/AIDS-related needs of our local workforces. In regions where high levels of malaria and tuberculosis exist, the need for education, prevention and treatment programs will also be addressed.
We recognize that the success of any effort will depend on the support of local management. Therefore, we are working with Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation to develop standardized training curricula specifically tailored to our management and employees. Our approach to offering employees and their dependents HIV/AIDS testing and treatment will be guided by a set of principles currently being developed by our global team in conjunction with HIV/AIDS treatment experts at Pangaea. A nonprofit consultancy, Pangaea helps corporations, nongovernmental organizations, national health ministries and other organizations broaden access to HIV/AIDS antiretroviral treatment and care, with special emphasis on work in resource-limited settings.
During 2005, Chevron received a Program of Note award from the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), an upper-echelon distinction, due in large part to work we have done in Angola. This was the second award from the GBC, a nonprofit organization that works with businesses to leverage their assets, skills and networks to tailor localized campaigns to prevent and control the spread of HIV/AIDS.
"All of us at Pangaea have been tremendously impressed by the businesslike way Chevron has tackled the implementation of their global HIV/AIDS policy and the strong commitment the entire Chevron team has shown in developing a program that will be meaningful to employees and their managers around the world. Active participation in the process by the regional managers in Africa and other parts of the world has definitely enriched the training programs under development. Chevron's ongoing effort to incorporate best practices in HIV/AIDS training, testing and treatment into their global effort is setting a high standard that other multinational companies should follow."
Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation