HIV/Aids impacts skills development

“An estimated 5.7 million South Africans are infected with HIV/AIDS, making South Africa the country with the highest number of people worldwide living with the virus. Drastic action is required by all South Africans to raise awareness around HIV/AIDS, break the silence and overcome the stigma associated with the illness,” says BANKSETA CEO, Max Makhubalo. Fully committed to this intiative, the BANKSETA Council has approved funding to the tune of R1m for existing and new projects which raise awareness around the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the banking and microfinance sector, and also with potential to reach the community at large. “The sector’s response to the HIV/AIDS Project funding window has been overwhelming. Thirteen applications for funding were received. The total funding amount has already been committed,” Makhubalo explains. Makhubalo re-iterates that the BANKSETA’s mission is “to support transformation and people development and through partnerships to enable stakeholders to advance the national and global position of the broader banking and microfinance industry.” “In order to achieve our mission, the BANKSETA wants to ensure that existing skills are retained. AVERT an international NGO, which seeks to avert HIV and AIDS worldwide, estimates that 18.1% of South Africa’s adult population are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. This being the case, HIV/AIDS poses a significant business risk in terms of its ability to potentially denude the existing skills base,” he observes. By raising awareness around risks HIV/AIDS has on skills development, Makhubalo says the BANKSETA is committed to reducing the number of new infections, and ensure that those already infected with the virus, are provided with the necessary support in the workplace to enable them to continue to make a valuable contribution both in their workplace, their community and to their families.   “The BANKSETA fully supports Nelson Mandela’s view that ‘AIDS is a war against humanity. We need to break the silence, banishing the stigma and discrimination and ensure total inclusiveness within the struggle against AIDS. If we discard the people living with HIV/AIDS, we can no longer call ourselves human’”. Makhubalo challenges all workplaces in South Africa to raise awareness around HIV/AIDS. “The war against HIV/AIDS needs to be fought on all fronts: every organisation and every individual has a vested interest to take action in this regard,” he concludes.   Based on the strong support that the BANKSETA has received for its HIV/AIDS funding project, the BANKSETA plans to “scale up” its HIV/AIDS funding project in the future.