We’re doing well but the battle goes on!
Dr Tshepo Sedibe, De Beers Group Senior Occupational Health Manager, reports on the progress being made in the fight against HIV/AIDS We in De Beers Group are passionate about the health and wellbeing of our employees and of the communities they come from. So we are determined to keep up the fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) among our people in southern Africa. Our view is that the health of our workforce and their communities is interwoven. By helping one, we help the other. Today – 1 December – is World AIDS Day, when we come together to show our support for people living with the illness, commemorate those who have lost their lives from it and rededicate ourselves to the battle against HIV/AIDS. As background, AIDS stands for ‘acquired immune deficiency syndrome’, which happens because of the damage to the immune system caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). It was first recognised in 1981 and the term AIDS emerged in 1982. Since then, the wo