Heineken beer brand history and market presence

Africa countries are one of the hardest hit countries by the AIDS crisis. Workers comprise a significant portion of people living with HIV or at least all of the workers are exposed to the dangers of the epidemic. Companies established in African countries generally provide health care coverage to their workers but AID epidemic threw new challenges to the management.

A large number of companies including Heineken offer the preventive or advisory programs for their workers. A number of organizations also agreed to provide AIDS treatment to their workers when breakthroughs were achieved in AIDS treatment. Even though Heineken has a prevention program in operation central Africa and it is also providing life-sustaining HIV / AIDS antiretroviral drugs, medications and treatment, the program has not met the success and achieved its full potential. Also the company has been associated with UNAIDS and various initiatives to combat AIDS in Africa the need for partnerships and associations is still there. There are issues concerning acquiring drugs in different countries. Cumbersome procedures associated with drugs registration, government policies and generic or branded drugs availability are some of the key issues facing the organizations like Heineken which volunteered to tackle the issue. In the face of increasing problems faced by established businesses in Africa due to AIDS companies had to reformulate their health and medical coverage related HR policies so that their business interests can be safeguarded. More than the public outcry and international pressure and awareness about the dangers of disease in Africa companies have to carry out their own cost benefit analysis as well. The have to see that investing in AIDS programs could help them overcome issues of absenteeism, hospitalization, and death, and the costs related to recruiting and training new employees.

Organizations today do not merely exist to make profits but they have corporate social responsibilities. Companies in sub-Saharan Africa cannot simply afford to reuse provision of AIDS drugs to its workforce. As a socially responsible organization Heineken has taken the issue seriously and issues are being considered at corporate level within its subsidiaries as well as in headquarters. They are aware of the complexities of issues at hand. The management has not only identified the issues but they are looking for ways for the remedies and thus plying their role in social responsiveness. They have already introduced their AIDS program in Rwanda and Burundi and are looking for a roll out in the rest of the countries where they have their operations. Due to their active role the company along with other active companies is being hailed by the media and their active programs and policies have also made other companies like Coca Cola a target of criticism. However the approach cannot still be considered completely proactive yet Heineken is doing its bit by are expanding its program to provide antiretroviral treatment for their employees.