Is HIV a time bomb under the mining industry?
Published by MAC on 2007-07-18
Is HIV a time bomb under the mining industry?
18th July 2007
The disproportionate risk to mine workers from sexually transmitted diseases is a serious concern to companies, governments and unions alike, although local communities, or indeed the affected sex workers, often only end up as a footnote to the statistics. HIV/AIDS is understandably a key concern (even if it is often raised regarding its effect on productivity and profit), but a recent outbreak of syphilis around the mining boom area of Fort Dauphin on the island of Madagscar has acted as a reminder of how relatively remote host communities can be affected by the arrival of large-scale projects.
Is HIV a time bomb under the mining industry?
by By Anna Stablum
11th July 2007
LONDON (Reuters) - From Africa to Russia, from Peru to China, mining companies face a problem: the workers who haul up the earth's riches are coming down with AIDS, and it is hampering operations at a time of booming demand for minerals.
"The epidemic is extremely severe, it's worse than any of us admit to, there are a lot of undiagnosed cases that don't get reported," Brian Brink, medical senior vice-president at Anglo American's South Africa operations, told Reuters. He said Anglo, the world's fourth largest mining group, realised it had a problem at its mines 21 years ago when four of its 18,450 South African workers tested positive for the virus.
Over two decades later, with up to one in three infected and South Africa the centre of a global pandemic, the firm says its own prevention efforts failed.
"We didn't stop this epidemic. In fact if I was to look back and score ourselves, I think we get zero," Brink said.
Worldwide the disease has killed some 30 million people, double the amount of casualties in World War One. Miners are anxious to build on lessons learned in South Africa to try to stem the tide elsewhere.
The world's fourth biggest gold producer, Gold Fields, has estimated the total cost from HIV at around $5 per ounce of gold produced in South Africa, and even with gold trading at around $650 per ounce the cost is significant.
AIDS is growing fastest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia where the number of people living with HIV has grown 20-fold in less than a decade, according to the United Nations.
In Russia, the infection rate has more than doubled in two years to 1.2 million in 2005 and in the country's fifth largest gold mining area, Irkutsk, the rate is more than three times the Russian average, UNDP data showed.
In India, there are many patches where the population's infection rate is above 1 percent.
"In the early 1990s that (one percent) is where we were and then it is very difficult to stop," Brink said. The HIV infection rate among South African miners is now nearly double that of the general working population.
In China, the U.N. estimated 650,000 people were infected in 2005, up by 23 percent in two years. If that spread continues, some 1.9 million people will be infected in China by 2015.
"They (other countries) must not fall into the same trap as South Africa," said Lennox Mekuto, Health and Safety Officer for the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa.
In May this year health experts from seven mining giants met for the first time in London, forming a group to come up with an improved strategy on how to halt the spread of AIDS. "It is a major challenge this industry is rising to meet," said the UK-based head of operations and safety at Rio Tinto, Richard Gaunt.
SEX WORKERS
Miners -- many migrant workers -- risk their lives to make money daily, so unprotected sex seems a minor hazard.
Remote mine sites attract sex workers. In the mining province Yunnan in China, sex workers from Myanmar and Vietnam are a high-risk group likely to spread the disease as illegal migrants fear the threat of deportation if they contact public health services.
"This is the nature of our business, it attracts sex workers, whether we like it or not we cannot wish it away," said Stella Ntimbane, group HIV/AIDS coordinator for Gold Fields in South Africa. Clients of sex workers are a major bridge of HIV transmission to the general population. In 2005 the ILO estimated that 1.4 million sex workers were forced labour, without access to treatment.
Russia, China and India and the broader continent of Africa face a huge urban-rural divide, limiting rural access to HIV clinics. In often inhospitable mining areas workers and their communities depend on services provided by the mining firm.
Poverty adds to the risk of infection and the virus creates a vicious circle, with an estimated cost of 0.5 to 2 percent of the GDP growth in the worst-hit countries.
SLOW GOVERNMENTS
In India, an influx of multinational corporate investment gives business a great opportunity to play a significant role in the fight to halt the epidemic, said Neeraj Mistry of the Global Business Coalition (GBC) in New York, which consists of 200 companies dedicated to fighting AIDS.
Governments must also act, he said: "In Russia and Eastern Europe we are seeing that the governments are a bit slow."
In Russia and neighbouring countries, HIV is concentrated within the prison population, sex workers and intravenous drug users -- Russia is a main transit route for Afghanistan's opium.
"When I was working in Ukraine, it was well known that on pay day miners would spend a lot on drugs and alcohol and HIV was spreading quite rapidly," Human Rights Watch's director for HIV/AIDS, Joseph Amon, said.
Mistry said China's government was proving more responsive, having learned from its failure to deal with the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
"Companies that are now investing in China and working there are working hand-in-hand with the government to get a more comprehensive response in its strategies," he said.
Tina Meng, business development manager for Anglo American in Beijing said: "We do it because we know that if this disease takes root it is really terrible, of course for individuals and the community, but also for a company's operations."
WIN A TRUCK
After initial confusion and political obfuscation, South Africa has brought all stakeholders together and the government, civil society and business have set up a five-year plan to tackle HIV. Firms are enticing miners to take HIV/AIDS tests by offering prizes, sending mobile treatment units to the bush where sex workers operate and blanketing the region with condoms.
For instance, Gold Fields gives each miner who takes an HIV/AIDS test a lottery ticket, offering monthly prizes of cell phones, televisions and cash, plus a final sweepstake where one worker wins a new pick-up truck.
If more governments addressed the pandemic it would secure the sustainability of HIV programmes, especially when a mine closes and the firm leaves, say South African executives.
"It is certainly one of the biggest concerns for us, again that really points to the importance of a collaborative approach with other partners," said Rob Barbour, medical coordinator in Tanzania for gold producer Barrick Gold.
BHP Billiton -- the world's largest mining company -- said for every dollar it invests in HIV training, education and medical programmes the return is four-fold in terms of benefits such as re-training, absenteeism and productivity. "There is an overwhelming business case," said BHP Billiton's regional health adviser for Southern Africa, Andre van der Bergh.
"When we started our HIV programme we didn't wait for any government to say yes or no, if there is a risk for an organisation we take appropriate action."
(Additional reporting by Eric Onstad in Johannesburg, Lucy Hornby in Beijing, Maria Luisa Palomino in Lima and Robin Paxton in Moscow)
FACTBOX-AIDS and the mining sector
More LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - South America, Africa and Asia -- the world's three main mining continents -- face a major health challenge as workers risk infection with AIDS, hampering operations at a time of booming demand for minerals. Here are some key questions about mining and AIDS -- the world's leading cause of death among adults aged under 60.
WHERE IS AIDS INFECTION GROWING FASTEST?
AIDS is growing most rapidly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a resource-rich area where the number of people living with HIV has grown 20-fold in less than a decade to 1.5 million in 2005.
The biggest epidemic in Central Asia is in Uzbekistan, which possesses large mineral resources such as gold, copper, zinc, coal and uranium and straddles major drug trafficking routes.
The number of reported HIV cases has nearly tripled to 31,000 in 2005 since 2003. Much smaller epidemics are underway in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
With copper prices nearly quadrupling, and gold prices rising by more than 50 percent since the start of 2004, interest in new mining projects has rocketed.
As mines are depleted in traditional areas such as Canada, Australia and Africa, exploration has moved to more remote areas such as Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.
WHY ARE MINERS IN THE FRONTLINE?
The majority of mine workers are men and many risk their lives daily by going deep underground to look for metals. Many work 12-hour days with only short breaks for 10 days in a row. Many are migrant workers, despite efforts by larger mining firms to stop employing migrants. The absence of social constraints that prevail at home, loneliness and boredom create a high-risk environment. These are the main reasons behind high HIV rates:
* high mobility
* isolation and working in confined environments
* majority are very young adults, sexually active
* male-dominated professions, macho culture
* access to and ready availability of sex workers
* stress; alcohol and drug use
* misinformation or lack of information about HIV
* inadequate access to health services
WHAT ARE THE RISKS FOR MINING COMPANIES OF INACTION?
A shortage of highly trained mining engineers means a severe AIDS epidemic could seriously threaten mine production. With more employees falling sick due to HIV/AIDS, companies face increased costs for health insurance, sick leave and funeral benefits. Companies also bear the costs of recruiting and training new staff. Lower morale due to illness and loss of co-workers threatens the stable environment needed to sustain operations. Figures have shown an untreated employee may cost his company over three times as much as his annual salary.
WHAT ARE MINING COMPANIES DOING ABOUT IT?
In May this year health experts from seven mining giants met for the first time in London, forming a group organised by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to come up with an improved strategy on how to halt the spread of AIDS.
Most large mining corporations have an HIV strategy in place, small and medium-sized companies have fewer policies.
Most large international organisations like the ILO, the World Bank and UNAIDS have written guidelines for the sector. Worldwide policies include the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) HIV/AIDS Resource Guide for the Mining Sector, which provides briefing notes and case studies.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS FOR GOVERNMENTS?
AIDS strikes people in their most productive years and forces countries to reassess budgeting decisions, as they must decide whether to divert spending to healthcare.
The growing need for services and declining revenue leaves governments with increasing deficits, deterring the possibility of foreign investment. The decline in consumer spending as a result of HIV/AIDS is also associated with a decrease in government revenue.
Overall losses in GDP have been estimated at about 2 percent in nations with HIV infection over 10 percent.
WHAT ARE GOVERNMENTS DOING ABOUT IT?
Governments have put pressure on pharmaceutical companies to cut the cost of antiretroviral drugs to about $500 per patient annually in 2002 from around $12,000 in the mid-1990s.
Countries such as Thailand, Brazil and Uganda have managed to avoid infection rates at the level in South Africa through awareness programmes and condom-distribution. But other governments have HIV further down the agenda, especially in regions where the disease is concentrated among prisoners, sex workers and drug users. Although some governments lack a national strategy, there are local authorities that work together with non-governmental organisations and international agencies.
Sources: the International Labour Organisation, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, UNAIDS and the United Nations Development Programme
Syphilis emergency in Madagascar
By Jonny Hogg - BBC News, Antananarivo, Madagascar
18th July 2007
An outbreak of syphilis has prompted the government in Madagascar to declare a state of emergency in the southern town of Fort Dauphin.
Ongoing tests suggest that about 17,000 people, or 30% of the region's sexually active population, may have the sexually transmitted disease.
An economic boom linked to local mining projects has attracted prostitutes and international mine workers.
There are fears the condition could provide an entry route for HIV/Aids.
The Indian Ocean island has an HIV infection rate of less than 1%.
Easily treated
Although the ongoing tests do not suggest a rise in HIV rates the government is declaring a state of emergency in the town to treat those who have syphilis.
Health Minister Dr Robinson Jean Louis told the BBC that the economic boom linked to local mining projects meant the town was becoming a popular destination for sex workers.
He also expressed concern at the risks associated with foreign mine workers, some from countries with high HIV rates, coming to work on projects in Fort Dauphin.
It is still unclear why Madagascar's HIV infection rates are so low despite its proximity to Africa.
Syphilis can be easily treated in as little as three days.
The ministry of health is launching a treatment programme in the next few days and will increase sexual health education in the area in an attempt to stop the disease spreading to other parts of the country .
Syphilis prompts HIV fears in Malagasy mining town
18th July 2007
Source: Reuters
ANTANANARIVO - A spike in syphilis infections in a major Malagasy mining town could point to an HIV epidemic there in future, an official said on Wednesday.
Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, is passed from one person to another by direct contact with a sore -- and it can facilitate HIV infection, experts say.
"The syphilis prevalence rate in Tolagnaro is 30 percent against a national prevalence rate of 4 percent," said Fenosoa Ratsimanetrimanana, head of Madagascar's AIDS commission.
"We should worry about HIV because a higher prevalence rate of syphilis makes (HIV) infection easier."
The official was referring to a southeast town also known as Fort Dauphin. The enormous Indian Ocean island -- where an incipient mining boom is underway -- has so far avoided an HIV epidemic that is hitting the African mainland.
Experts say mining communities are especially at risk from HIV, as migrant labourers often indulge in high-risk behaviour, for instance having sex with prostitutes.
AIDS is hampering operations at a time of booming demand for minerals, mining firms say.
The HIV rate among South African miners is now nearly double that of the general working population, companies say. Worldwide the disease has killed 30 million people.