SOCIAL SUSTA INABILITY
families, especially in countries where public health
care provision is inadequate. This is the case particu
larly with breweries on the African continent.
HIV/Aids
ence we have gained here is now being used to set up
similar projects at other operating companies in
regions where malaria is prevalent.
Occupational diseases
One of the main policy priorities in recent years has
been our HIV/Aids programme in Africa. It is estimat
ed that one in every nine of the population of sub-
Saharan Africa is infected with the HIV virus. Because
the provision of information and medication is inade
quate, Heineken is running a large-scale programme
of information, education and training to support
prevention and is providing medication for HIV+
employees and their immediate families. To ensure
the success of the programme, the company has
entered into several public-private partnerships with
local authorities, because we have learned from
experience that this kind of cooperation helps to
maintain the continuity of the programme. The
HIV/Aids programme was extended in 2003 to Nigeria
and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Malaria
Heineken is running a similar programme to help in
the fight against malaria. The figures show that the
distribution of impregnated mosquito nets to the
employees of the Kigali and Gysenyi (Rwanda) pro
duction units has made a significant contribution to
reducing the number of malaria cases. The experi-
Saliva testing
Heineken checks HIV status of African employees and their families
In Africa, the focus of Heineken's free
HIV screening and treatment pro
gramme has shifted to the 50 per cent
of employees and their families who
have not yet come forward.
A voluntary HIV saliva-testing session
was organised at a 'family day' in
Rwanda to provide data for estimating
the probable prevalence of HIV among
this group. On the basis of the results,
it is safe to assume that most seroposi
tives are already aware of their status
and there are very few among those
who have not yet been screened.
ALETTA KLIPHUIS
STEFAAN VAN DE BORGHT
Heineken's doctors and other medical personnel have
been trained to recognise and instructed to report
job-related health problems. From 2004, occupation
al diseases will be reported on a structured and
standardised basis four times a year. As well as infor
mation on occupational diseases, other parameters
such as medical expenses and local disease patterns
are recorded. Our object is to generate data which
we can use to establish a continuous cycle of im
provement.
4.8 Human rights
Heineken endorses the principles underlying the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: respect for
the dignity of all people, irrespective of race, religion,
sexual orientation or political conviction. Heineken
will not cooperate, actively or passively, directly or
indirectly, in any violation of human rights and will
support its employees if their rights are violated by
third parties. We are willing to declare in the most
appropriate manner our position on the human rights
situation in countries in which we operate and we
seek to ensure that our employees are aware of their
rights.
28 per cent of Heineken's operating companies
(employing 69 per cent of our workforce) have an
active human rights policy. At our operating compa
nies in Poland and the United States, security person
nel are trained to respect human rights in the per
formance of their duties. The impact on human rights
is a factor taken into account by 23 per cent of our
operating companies when planning investments or
selecting suppliers. Four per cent of the operating
companies have a procedure for systematic monitor
ing and evaluation of human rights performance
within the production chain. At six per cent of our
operating companies, there were one or more inci
dents within the production chain in 2003 which
prompted dialogue with the suppliers concerned.
Heineken has launched a project to improve procure
ment conditions and practices with respect to human
HEINEKEN N.V. SUSTA INABILITY REPORT 2 002-200 3
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