Established in 1993 as a link between the private and public sectors, the Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS (TBCA) works with businesses to create AIDS-supportive work environments. It conducts HIV/AIDS education and prevention seminars and promotes the adoption of appropriate HIV/AIDS workplace policies. To date, the Coalition has over 100 members. Although TBCA has succeeded in encouraging businesses to manage HIV/AIDS in the workplace, most companies still have difficulty seeing the financial benefit of an AIDS-free workforce. Tangible, short-term returns do not exist with regard to workplace HIV/AIDS education.
TBCA has assisted in developing business coalitions on AIDS in Malaysia, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and the FICCI-UNAIDS Business Coalition Programme on AIDS, and progressing towards the establishment of the Vietnam Business Coalition on AIDS. Although TBCA is engaged in a variety of activities, it is essentially a consultancy and training centre, training business executives and managers, office staff and labourers. Its programme includes training for trainers, peer education, counselling and case management and experiential learning relying on participants' life experiences. TBCA's objectives include:

To mobilise resources (monetary and skills) from the private sector for HIV prevention;

To promote the adoption of coherent non-discriminatory workplace policies and implementation of workplace education programmes.

Corporations are motivated to join TBCA for a variety of reasons. A corporation often joins because it has a PLWHA on its staff, and management is concerned about its workforce and productivity. Many corporations have a strong sense of social responsibility and they also appreciate the value of good public relations to be seen as a caring institution.  TBCA member companies institute HIV/AIDS programmes in their workplace according to individual requirements. They may have (1) comprehensive non-discriminatory policies coupled with active education and prevention; (2) components of policies and programmes, or (3) offer financial support only through payment of TBCA membership dues.
Through its Workplace Resource Centre, the TBCA provides materials, information and resources to the business community. Based on its cumulative experience, TBCA developed a handbook, AIDS in the Workplace, a guideline for issues concerning HIV/AIDS policy to be used by businesses or NGOs working with private enterprise. The handbook includes the national guidelines for HIV testing and case studies that have proven effective in convincing companies to adopt an HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Programme.

Achievements, challenges and lessons learned

Training requests increased as TBCA developed new training curriculum under the Working as Partners (WAP) initiative. By targeting a variety of occupational categories ranging from blue-collar workers to upper-level management, TBCA staff developed expertise in participatory training in the workplace. Member companies gave positive feedback about the training sessions. The WAP curriculum development process was based on a social psychological approach: prejudice and discrimination can be overcome through techniques that create individual awareness, empathy and the realisation that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a society-wide problem, not one that impacts deviant individuals and groups.

"The most important step in a private HIV/AIDS prevention and care programme is contacting the business owner or manager. You must have an access point, you need a connection, a network, a door opener. They must be contacted by a credible source, one they respect. They must be contacted in an equal opportunity manner. This means that they must see that there is an equal opportunity for recognition.  then the business owner or manager is more likely to participate." - Luechai Chualsai and Richard Cherry

Two policy booklets, How To Develop a HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Policy and Sample Policies are important components of TBCA's strategy to convince companies to adopt HIV/AIDS policies. TBCA plans to increase business commitment by drawing on a two-phase strategy:

• Phase I: Identification of local and international business leaders with demonstrated commitment to HIV/AIDS workplace issues. TBCA board members will be encouraged to network with these individuals.
• Phase II: Work with committed business leaders to develop a more comprehensive case study of their commitment, implementation of activities in their workplace and community, and development of a promotional strategy for each business. Such studies will include the reasons for their commitment; challenges encountered and strategies for overcoming challenges and obstacle; and possible means for duplicating similar initiatives in other companies through responsible corporate citizenship and policy development initiatives. Business leaders who have made outstanding contributions to HIV prevention are recognised in the annual Profiles of Leadership event.

The AIDS-response Standard Organisation (ASO) Project

TBCA and American International Assurance (AIA), the largest insurance company in Thailand, are jointly providing a much needed financial incentive to participating insurance policy holders. Through an evaluation and accreditation project based on a rating system of short- and long-term objective HIV prevention indicators, the project aims to increase the number of companies instituting workplace HIV/AIDS programmes. Each indicator carries a point value to determine the final accreditation level of the company. As companies' policies come up for renewal, their workplace HIV/AIDS programmes will be re-evaluated. This will motivate companies to sustain and improve their HIV/AIDS programme.

The participating companies are the primary beneficiaries, being eligible for up to a 10% bonus on their group life insurance premium. These companies will also reap the financial benefits resulting from HIV/AIDS workplace programmes. The secondary and perhaps greatest pool of beneficiaries will be the employees and families of participating companies. Thirdly, AIA benefits by having another effective marketing tool to add to its public relations portfolio as it aims to increase its group insurance holders. AIA also serves as a model to other insurance companies who may be inspired to follow suit.