Anglo American Plc, South Africas biggest employer, said about 18 percent of its southern African workers are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.About 14,500 of the companys employees in the region are HIV-positive, London-based Anglo American said in an annual review e-mailed today. About 7,400, or 51 percent of those needing treatment, are getting HIV disease-management programs and that is well below the target of 75 percent for 2008, the company said.
AIDS may kill 263,900 people in South Africa this year, or 43 percent of all estimated deaths, the countrys statistics office said July 27. Almost 11 percent of the population, or 5.2 million people, are living with HIV, it said.
Anglo is the worlds biggest producer of platinum and owns a stake in the biggest diamond producer, De Beers.
Bloomberg