Several years of experience in addressing the epidemic have confirmed that the promotion and protection of human rights constitute an essential component in preventing HIV transmission and reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS. To this end, the Minister of Labour has promulgated guidelines for implementing a National Code on HIV/AIDS in Employment in terms of the Labour Act. These guidelines:

• outlaw discrimination on the basis of HIV status in the context of employment
• prohibit direct or indirect pre-employment tests for HIV
• guarantee confidentiality regarding HIV/AIDS in the workplace
• encourage implementation of workplace HIV prevention and education programmes.

Since implementation, two studies have been conducted to assess employers' knowledge of these guidelines. A national survey in 2000 among 613 employers conducted by the AIDS Law Unit (ALU) at the Legal Assistance Centre - a public interest law centre in Windhoek - indicated that while most employers are aware of the guidelines' provisions, relatively few employers are implementing HIV prevention programmes. Among the employers surveyed, it is mainly medium-to-large (51-500 employees) and large organisations (more than 500 employees) that make both voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) available to their employees. The reported amount spent per year on voluntary or mandatory HIV testing and counselling varied from N$500 for small organisations to N$500,000 for large ones. Few government ministries interviewed acknowledged that they had introduced HIV prevention programmes in their workplaces. This is reason for concern, particularly as government is by far the largest employer in Namibia.

Another survey conducted on behalf of the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2001 revealed that, whereas 78% of employers interviewed in the capital city of Windhoek had HIV prevention programmes in place, the percentage was much lower in the regional towns (25-44%). The employers who had not implemented prevention programmes cited a lack of knowledge about how to implement such programmes and lack of finances as the main reasons for not doing so.

Since 1999, the ALU has collaborated with the AIDS Care Trust of Namibia (ACT). They assist employers and trade unions in establishing HIV/AIDS prevention and care programmes and in addressing HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in the workplace. Together with management and workers committees, the ALU offers training and awareness-raising activities on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the workplace. It also stresses the importance of a rights-based response to HIV/AIDS, training in the legal and human rights aspects of HIV in the workplace, assistance with the formulation of appropriate HIV/AIDS workplace policies, and the design and implementation of prevention and care programmes using peer educators. As the employers often do not have the personnel or expertise necessary to provide counselling, care and support services, ALU encourages the employers to form links with NGOs that do provide services such as home-based care. Employers are thus encouraged to provide services they would otherwise not be able to provide.

To date, most of the work undertaken in this regard has been with larger companies and parastatals and has been largely Windhoek-based. The survey results indicated the need for more emphasis on small-to-medium-size employers, both in Windhoek and the regions. The small-to-medium employers, who often cite lack of finances as the reason for not implementing prevention and care programmes, need to be convinced of the cost-effectiveness of these programmes. Smaller employers and employers in the informal sector find it impossible to establish effective programme planning and implementing structures. In these situations, the design and implementation of prevention programmes becomes the responsibility of one already overworked person for whom the programme is not a priority.

Given the above-mentioned situation, the challenge for the future is to develop innovative approaches to assist smaller and informal employers in developing appropriate HIV/AIDS and STI prevention and care programmes. The commercial farming sector, which employs a large number of people, presents a particular challenge because the farms are often isolated and remote. Innovative approaches will inevitably include forming partnerships and pooling resources offered by employers, employees, NGOs and community-based organisations in order to help provide education, care and support services to employees.