Because these programmes work from within the community they are affordable, costing an average of just 68 US cents per child per month-a small price to pay for a service that will help keep orphans woven into the fabric of society. Fostering initiatives have also begun on commercial farms. The challenge to business Since many economies in the region are in flux, it is hard to determine exactly what the impact of HIV is on national economies as a whole. However it is clear that businesses are already beginning to suffer. In Zimbabwe, for instance, life insurance premiums quadrupled in just two years because of AIDS deaths.
Some companies report a doubling of their health bills.
In Botswana, companies estimate that AIDS-related costs will soar from under one percent of the wage bill now to five percent in six years' time, because of the rapid rise in infection in the last few years. In Zambia, one large company reported in 1995 that its costs from AIDS illness and death exceeded its total profits for the year. There is a similar report from a large Tanzanian company. Prevention programmes for workers have been shown to cut costs as well as infections in Africa. The costs for senior and skilled staff will be far higher.