Africa: Agriculture and Healthcare Come Together to Fight HIV/AIDS

Olam International, a London-based global agribusiness, partnered with nongovernmental organizations on World AIDS Day to offer HIV testing, a new element of Olam's ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Africa. Olam has a presence in 28 African countries, where the company works with small-scale farmers and operates food processing units in rural areas. Using its extensive network of farmers and employees, Olam and its NGO partners reached 234,000 people in Africa with HIV/AIDS awareness messages this year. In addition, Olam collaborated with USAIDS, the German NGO GIZ, and other NGOs in 2012 to offer HIV screening to people in the Olam network.

Chris Brett, senior vice-president of Olam International, stated that the company will "go forward" with counseling and supplying antiretroviral drugs as people learn their status. The Olam interventions align with the World AIDS Day strategy of "getting to zero" new HIV infections, AIDS deaths, and discrimination against HIV-infected persons. Through Olam's initiatives, healthcare and agriculture are linked in preventing HIV and helping HIV-infected persons, said Brett.

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