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South African Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (SANEC) and Medical Knowledge Institute (MKI) join forces

Oostvoorne/ The Hague, the Netherlands – 30 May 2007 – The Medical Knowledge Institute (MKI) - a non-profit healthcare education and healthcare information organization and UN Associate Member – and SANEC (South African – Netherlands Chamber of Commerce) are launching together an new project, called HIV/Aids workplace policy development and education program. The program is oriented towards about 300 medium and small organisations and multinationals in South Africa that don’t have a HIV/AIDS policy in place. The program aims at effectively addressing the challenge posed by the HIV epidemic to employees, their families, business operations and economic and social development. Besides that the program wants to raise awareness among the workers, prevent the spread of the virus, influence behaviour and life style, and organize an attitude change at the workplace.

Project Manager for SANEC/MKI is Zizi Fernandes. Mrs. Fernandes is born in Guinee-Bissau (West Africa) and is a student in Business Administration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Within the project Zizi Fernandes will be responsible for the introduction and awareness of the programme among the small and medium sized corporations and workplaces in South-Africa. Zizi Fernandes underlines the extreme importance of the program: “The majority of the companies don’t know how to address HIV/Aids issues at the workplace. That is why they should have a policy in place. Beside, HIV/Aids are still under an enormous taboo and it is important that the business community takes a lead. We are hoping to realise this by the HIV/Aids workplace policy development and education program.”

Addressing HIV and AIDS at the workplace is no longer simply a moral decision, but an important strategic business decision”, says Mr. Bastiaan van der Knaap, ING Bank and Chairman of the SANEC Board of Directors.