Taipei, July 13 (CNA) Taiwanese businesses have been lacking in awareness of the impact of AIDS on their workforces and production, and have been encouraged to play an integral role in HIV/AIDS prevention along with the government and civic groups, AIDS prevention advocates said in a summit Friday.
In comparison with other developed countries, businesses have been absent in Taiwan's AIDS prevention and Taiwanese employers lack awareness of the impact of AIDS, according to a number of public surveys, said Tu Shiing-jer, president of the Taiwan AIDS Foundation.
The summit was organized by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the Taiwan AIDS Foundation and the Chinese National Federation of Industry (CNFI).
A 2005 Global Health Initiative survey conducted by the World Economic Forum found that only 17 percent, far below the 37 percent average in Asia, of Taiwanese employers were aware of the impact of AIDS on production in the next five years. A United Nations program on HIV/AIDS survey in 2006 found that 80 percent of Taiwan companies do not consider HIV/AIDS to have an impact on their businesses.
However, Taiwan's Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that there are 14,563 AIDS patients currently living in Taiwan. Taiwan NGOs estimate that the figure may be five times higher than that. It will cost Taiwan NT$31.8 billion in medical care for AIDS patients and NT$220 billion in production losses by 2010, Tu predicted.
Therefore, a group of advocates, including Tu, Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou, Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Chairman Ho Mei-yueh and CNFI President Chen Wu-hsiung, called for the establishment of a Taiwan Business Coalition (TBC) on HIV/AIDS at the summit.
"Taiwan, with its well-educated population and formidable scientific establishment, is better situated than most places to meet this challenge. Workplace programs targeted at fighting the infection and the discrimination of its victims, and which ensure better medical treatment, can produce significant results, " said AIT Director Stephen Young.
Young encouraged local businesses to establish HIV/AIDS workplace policies, set up workplace intervention programs that include training on prevention of HIV/AIDS, and take action to stop discrimination against HIV-positive people.
Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ magazine -- a magazine that promotes the idea that surviving AIDS and living a full life with HIV is possible, and Anthony Pramulratana, president of the Asian Business Coalition on AIDS, were guest speakers at the summit.
The first AIDS case in Taiwan was reported in 1984 and the number of patients has been increasing at a rate of between 15 percent and 20 percent annually. 2005 showed a 124 percent growth but in 2006, the growth rate was negative for the first time since 1984.