A tax to ensure HIV/AIDS treatment (via the ONE blog)

I recently wrote a story about several of NAC's events I attended in the past month. It was just published on the ONE blog yesterday. You can read it below or on the ONE website.
Also today is my last day at NAC, so it's great timing for an article highlighting the organization's work.

Tzviatko Chiderov is a ONE volunteer from Chicago and has been a member since 2007. He is currently on assignment in Zimbabwe with Voluntary Services Overseas. Keep on the lookout for more posts like these in the series “Z for Zimbabwe.”

Recently, National AIDS Council (NAC) hosted an event to hand over antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and funds to orphaned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. The drugs, worth $4.5 million, were financed entirely by the people of Zimbabwe, through the AIDS levy — a tax that all employed Zimbabweans pay. This makes it possible for every HIV-positive person in the country, regardless of their social status and financial abilities, to receive the drugs that keep them alive for free.

Additionally, funds in the amount of $270,000 were contributed to ensuring that orphans and vulnerable children throughout the country receive proper basic education. School in Zimbabwe, like most other places in the region, is not free.

Children are required to pay school fees and buy uniforms, in addition to supplies such as stationery and pens. These required expenses prevent many families, especially in rural areas, from being able to send their children to school. The money NAC donated will provide direct assistance with those costs to some of the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe, ensuring they have a fair chance at obtaining basic education.

Also recently, NAC hosted a conference for employers from the mining and transportation industries, to stress the importance of implementing HIV and AIDS policies and eliminating discrimination in the workplace against people living with HIV.

This conference was designed to coincide with one of the largest business events in the country — the annual Mine Entra in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe — to ensure that it sparks discussions on the topic among all employers attending the event. Implementing HIV and AIDS workplace policies was also presented as a great business decision because it reduces employee absenteeism and recruitment costs especially in the targeted industries of mining and transportation.

It has been very interesting attending and participating in events organized by NAC. The presentations and discussions make it clear that the national response to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe is a complex process, which must engage everyone in the country, including multiple sectors and industries, in order to be successful.