Accounting for the tragic cost of AIDS
The cost of AIDS should be accounted for on corporate balance sheets, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants has demanded.
The country’s workforce has been hard hit by the AIDS crisis, with one in five workers infected with the HIV virus. The disease has led to the opening of homes for HIV-infected children like the one above near Johannesburg.
Graham Terry, vice president and executive director at the SAICA, told Accountancy Age that South Africa was a ‘relatively developed economy’ and the AIDS crisis was having a greater impact there than the rest of Africa.
He said: ‘AIDS is a big issue here – numbers are high, but many businesses are in denial. Business needs to be more aware of the impact of AIDS.’
The UK-based National Aids Trust backed for the initiative. NAT senior communications manager Suzanne Williams said: ‘NAT encourages companies to realise the true impact of the HIV epidemic and invites a role that companies have to play in addressing HIV and AIDS.’