US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA2441

UNCLAS PRETORIA 002441 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/CBA NSMITH-NISSLEY 
 
E.O. 12948: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP, EINV, ELAB, ETRD, KSEP, SENV, SF 
SUBJECT:  NOMINATION FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S AWARD FOR 
CORPORATE EXCELLENCE - DOW CHEMICAL 
 
REF:  STATE 66434 
 
1.  (U) I am pleased to nominate Dow Southern Africa for the 
Secretary of State's 2005 Award for Corporate Excellence in 
 
SIPDIS 
recognition of its outstanding corporate citizenship and 
visionary employment practices in the face of South Africa's 
overwhelming HIV/AIDS health pandemic. 
 
2.  (U) It is no surprise that the world's largest provider 
of chemical, plastic, and agricultural products should also 
boast one of the most comprehensive and visionary health 
programs combating the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.  In 1989, 
Dow addressed the emerging health threat with the same 
tenacity that had become its trademark in building a $40 
billion chemical empire.  In South Africa, Dow anticipated 
that the new disease would inflict a devastating toll on a 
large percentage of the population.  While many countries 
were still trying to come to terms with what HIV/AIDS was, 
Dow Southern Africa had already developed a company policy 
and awareness campaign for Dow's 43,000 employees worldwide, 
their dependents, and communities.  Perhaps due to this 
foresight, Dow's actual losses to HIV/AIDS from 1995-2005 
were only 20 percent of the industry norm. 
 
3.  (U) Dow's HIV/AIDS comprehensive program is used as a 
standard by many other businesses and includes the following 
elements:  senior executive support, awareness and 
prevention programs, treatment programs, a business impact 
assessment, and community involvement. 
 
4.  (U) Dow Southern Africa is tackling HIV/AIDS at the most 
senior level.  The Board of Directors is directly involved 
in developing company policy and training programs for 
HIV/AIDS.  The company has created comprehensive awareness, 
education, and prevention programs that offer workplace 
discussion forums, peer group educators, in-house 
counselors, and voluntary testing.  For employees and their 
dependents that become infected, Dow provides a nutritional 
diet, anti-retroviral medicines, and treatment for 
opportunistic infections as well as home-based care. 
Additionally, Dow teams up with customers, suppliers, and 
business partners to educate as many people as possible 
about HIV/AIDS and to provide community-based care.  Dow 
Southern Africa currently supports HIV/AIDS clinics and 
orphanages in Sasolburg (Free State Province), Margate 
(KwaZulu-Natal Province), and King Williams Town (Eastern 
Cape Province).  Dow also administers "knowledge, attitudes, 
and practices" (KAP) surveys to its employees in an effort 
to understand how the pandemic might impact its business. 
 
5.  (U) Dow Southern Africa collaborates with the South 
African Department of Health and NGOs to continuously 
evaluate and improve its HIV/AIDS services.  Dow's proactive 
approach to helping its employees and their families fight 
HIV/AIDS has helped Dow achieve some of the lowest HIV/AIDS 
prevalence, disability, and death rates. 
 
7.  (U) In recognition of Dow's extraordinary HIV/AIDS 
programs and their positive impact on employees, their 
families and communities, Dow Southern Africa is nominated 
for the 2005 Secretary of State's Award for Corporate 
Excellence. 
 
FRAZER