Across Sub-Saharan Africa we run AIDS prevention and care programmes for our employees and their families using our retail outlets to raise public awareness. We will be adopting a global HIV/AIDS Standard confirming our commitment to help combat the epidemic. Guidelines are also being developed which will help us promote HIV prevention, manage its effects, and identify opportunities for effective partnerships.
In 2002, Shell Côte d’Ivoire set up an HIV/AIDS awareness centre. Nearly 70% of people with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa, posing a real challenge to sustainable development in the region. We recognise the impact of HIV/AIDS on millions of people and participate in several programmes to stem its spread.
In January 2002, in partnership with Population Services International (PSI) and other NGOs, Shell Côte d’Ivoire opened the Shell Institut to carry out HIV prevention in Yamassoukrou, the Ivory Coast’s political capital. The town is at the crossroads of major national highways and attracts many of the groups most vulnerable to HIV, such as young teenagers, commercial sex workers and long-haul drivers. Almost 14% of pregnant women in Yamassoukrou are HIV positive. The population is growing rapidly and as yet there has been no organised response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Shell Institut aims to achieve safer sexual and reproductive behaviour among young people through awareness-raising campaigns, training for representatives of high-risk groups and outreach work in schools. The Institut is also researching the sexual attitudes, behaviour and knowledge of young people in Yamassoukrou to help target the campaigns accurately. Statistics, for example sexually transmitted infections, in-school pregnancies and prevalence of HIV will be monitored quarterly to assess the programme’s success.
Shell Côte d’Ivoire also carried out an HIV/AIDS staff education programme from April 2001 for nine months. The programme assessed the knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS through questionnaires and then set up a training programme for 17 staff from all levels to train their peers. Both the Shell Côte d’Ivoire HIV/AIDS training programme and Shell Institut have highlighted the importance of peer group education. Efforts are underway to replicate the programme in other countries, sharing our learning of how to contribute to addressing the epidemic through partnerships.