Anglo American Board of Directors Supports Executives’ Plan to Provide Employees with Drugs
The board of directors for the London-based mining giant Anglo American PLC has agreed to support company executives' plan to assess if and how AIDS drugs can be provided to the company's 160,000 African workers, 20% of whom are HIV-positive, the Wall Street Journal Europe reports. The board, however, has not yet committed to providing the drugs. Anglo American will run a clinical trial to address how to help workers adhere to the complex drug regimens and handle the side effects, and to analyze treatment costs and benefits. Company executives have said that offering medicine will help manage the disease and may save corporate dollars in the long run. The board's decision to consider the drug provision was welcomed by South African AIDS activists (Schoofs, Wall Street Journal Europe, 5/15).
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