The Silent Epidemic of HIV and AIDS; Why Should Anyone Care

When I told a colleague that today World AIDS Day, and that I was going to attend a panel discussion, she gave me a surprised look and said, " I thought we had solved that problem," to which I replied that while AIDS was no longer a death sentence for everyone infected, there were still large numbers of people infected in the world particularly amongst women and people of color."

Today's program was moderated by award winning broadcast journalist, Belva Davis. One of the panelists was Barbara Williams from the National Coalition of Black Women, and also a senior manager at Sun Microsystems.

I heard her make two key points that resonated with me. The first was her belief that corporations needed to not only think about the bottom line but needed to do the right thing and do what's right, by contributing ideas and resources to prevent, detect and support treatment for people with AIDS.

The second point was that if someone has AIDS, it impacts everyone around they are close to, so that if an employee has an immediate family member who is infected and needs care, unless they get the support they need from their workplace, they won't be able to do their best work. If they have provided any kind of innovation in their organization they will no longer be able to focus on their work, but will be spending most of their energy worrying about the person who is home.

If organizations want to create workplaces where people love to do their best work and customers love to do business, executive leaders need to take a more holistic view of their employees. HIV testing should be included in physical exams and wellness programs.

This is another reason why health care benefits and work time flexibility are so important. There does need to be a great awareness of HIV and AIDS in the workplace and in the outside community. Just like any other type of illness, employees with HIV and AIDS need to have access to the right treatment so they can continue to come to work and contribute their skills and talents.

Strong leaders are aware that what impacts work life impacts personal life. The days are long gone when people were faced with the impossible task of leaving all of their personal life at home.