AIDS Prevention Challenges in Western and Southern Africa

摘要

In western and southern Africa, where most sub-Saharanoilfield activity occurs, AIDS is one of the main healthconcerns of most operators and service companies.Approximately 40 million persons are infected withHIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. This represents over twothirdsof the worldwide infected population. AlthoughHIV/AIDS is not a work-related disease, most operators andservices companies recognize that it affects their workforceand operations.Most oilfield companies aim to recruit and train the vastmajority of their work force locally. One barrier to doing so isthat, in the oilfield environment, the infection rate andexposure to HIV/AIDS tends to be high due to factors that areanalyzed in this paper. Although some oilfield operators havestarted to implement HIV/AIDS programs, most servicecompanies do not have clear policies and standards forprevention and risk mitigation.In this paper, we review the main factors that contribute toHIV/AIDS risk of infection in oil-producing countries inwestern and southern Africa. Barriers to prevention areanalyzed using a survey of a service company's employees.The survey results are used to determine the extent and theroot causes of the problem.Using findings from this study, we outline elements of aprevention program specifically designed for the oilfield workenvironment.