In the fight against HIV/Aids, the private sector has a major role to play, since companies have direct access to medium- and large-sized groups of people. This is why the Private Sector Federation will now be at the forefront of this struggle.

This was formalized recently when the Private Sector Federation (PSF) took over the responsibilities of Apelas (the association of the private and parastatal sectors in the fight against HIV/Aids), which worked under the supervision of the National Commission for the Fight against HIV/Aids (CNLS).

As Apelas president Juru Ruranganwa points out, Apelas was not being well understood by private companies, and managers did not identify the association with putting up measures to fight HIV/Aids.

For this reason, it was deemed more effective for PSF, the recognized private sector umbrella organization, to use its structure, skills and capacity to properly integrate the activities of Apelas in all private companies.

This transfer is all the more important, according to the CNLS executive secretary Agnes Binagwaho, since HIV-infected persons between 15 to 49 years old constitute 3% of the population - which is exactly the age category from which the active population is drawn.

"This calls for special attention of all those who, in their various capacities, can help prevent and fight this problem," Binagwaho says.

The PSF president, Robert Bayigamba, also stresses the impact of the infection on the private sector, given that it leads to more sick employees, which affects the production level of companies, thus resulting in a general decline of the economy.

Bayigamba further remarks that certain private companies, as well as public institutions, have already taken action. Major enterprises such as Bralirwa, Banque de Kigali, BCR, Hotel Novotel Umubano and Sonarwa, as well as the National Bank, amongst others, have all set up programs to sensitize their employees on HIV prevention and to provide medical treatment for those infected with HIV/Aids. It is time, he says, for other companies to follow suit.

The PSF president however recognizes that not all private enterprises have the same capacity to implement such comprehensive programs.

However, the least they can do, he notes, is to sensitize their employees on the prevention and effects of HIV/Aids, to form anti-AIDS clubs, to provide voluntary testing and to direct those infected to counseling services.

Bayigamba also calls on all organization, whether private or public, to play their part in the fight against HIV/Aids, since all of them can be affected by its crippling effect.

The absorption of Apelas by PSF is a good occasion for the federation to learn from the association's experience. Its president Juru Rurangwa explains that, since its establishment in 2002 as a multi-sector national plan to fight HIV/Aids, Apelas has managed to mobilize advisory and committee structures in nearly 120 companies to fight HIV and AIDS.

39 companies were visited and 40,000 voluntary tests were carried out. The association also played its role by providing voluntary testing of employees, mobilizing for the integration of programs to fight HIV/Aids in enterprises (amongst others through the use of condoms), putting up programs for the treatment of infected staff and being a voice for them, fighting against their discrimination at the workplace.

"What we have achieved overall is that employees now know the benefits of knowing their status through testing. Moreover, a large number of companies are now committed to HIV-sensitization and to providing medical treatment for infected employees," Ruranganwa says.

With the incorporation of Apelas within PSF, Rurangwa is confident that it will be in a better position to reach out to all private companies.

That confidence is justified, confirms PSF president Bayigamba, since they now have a whole unit at the federation that will be engaged in the fight against HIV/Aids in private companies.

"As the chairman, I will be the first advocate for the cause, and our staff will develop programs to encourage and assist companies in the fight against HIV/Aids," Bayigamba ensures.

The first step will be to make sure that all companies get organized. "There must be a policy to fight HIV/Aids in every enterprise, which should be part of their action plans," the president explains.

The aim of these policies should be to slow down the propagation of HIV, and attenuate the impact of HIV on the private sector. Actions that can be taken, Bayigamba says, are to provide medical care for the treatment of sexually transmitted infections, increase insurance premiums, fight against stigmatization and discrimination of infected staff, as well as the provision of male and female condoms.

He furthermore urges companies to pay attention to the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and providing training for advisers.