The skills crisis that Papua New Guinea is currently undergoing could pale into comparison over the next couple of decades if PNG’s escalating HIV/AIDS threat is not brought under control.

Port Moresby landmark Deloitte Tower wears a ribbon to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. Credit: BAHA

It is estimated that 1–2% of PNG’s population is infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Besides the obvious social and personal cost, the epidemic also poses a monumental challenge to PNG’s long-term economic development with a worst-case scenario predicting that the country could lose 12.5% of its workers.

Thankfully, the implications of this scenario have not been lost on the country’s business community, which is mounting a vigorous response. The Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS, made up of a powerful and broad-based alliance of companies operating in PNG, was launched in early 2007.

With links to the Asia Pacific Coalition on HIV/AIDS and working in partnership with the PNG Government, it has been swift to develop a range of prevention and awareness initiatives and to collaborate with employers on sound workplace policies.

In another major initiative, Nestlé has teamed up with PNG’s National Aids Council and the Red Cross to form the Nestlé (PNG) HIV/AIDS Awareness Program, with the primary aim of increasing awareness among the wider community that HIV/AIDS is ‘100% Avoidable’.