Maputo — The MOZAL aluminium smelter on the outskirts of Maputo has announced a programme of voluntary tests for its work force, in order to assess the level of prevalence of HIV, the virus that causes th lethal disease AIDS.

In a press release received by AIM on Tuesday, MOZAL stresses that the tests are a form of "voluntary, anonymous and independent research". The tests will be carried out on Thursday, but no worker will be forced to undergo an HIV test.

"No MOZAL employee may participate in this research against his will", the MOZAL release stressed, "since its main characteristic is its voluntary nature".

The samples will be taken from the volunteers, not by the company itself, but by a South African organisation "AIDS Management and Support", and will be sent for analysis in an independent laboratory in Johannesburg.

MOZAL has assured its workforce that the research "will be totally anonymous. It will not be possible to note the names or identify the workers participating in this research". Even those participating will not know their own results.

The purpose of the research, it adds, is to assess the degree of HIV infection among the MOZAL workers, so that the company can draw up an appropriate strategy. "The research will be used to help the company plan the future, and plan support services for employees affected by HIV-AIDS", it says.

MOZAL adds that, if any workers wishes to know his or her HIV status, the company will arrange a test for them at a private clinic.