Corporate Social Responsibility in Africa

Looking back on the readings and lectures we have covered so far in class, I have realized that my interest mostly lies in the policy and economic/business aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. As someone entering the private sector post-graduation, I am most interested in the involvement of the private sector. Although Barnett and Whiteside do not completely discount the possibility of the private sector in Africa making a significant difference in the alleviation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, they are certainly not positive, placing more importance and hope in the role of the government, donor organizations, and NGOs.

One aspect of private sector involvement in Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic that most interests me is the corporate social resposibility programs of private corporations in Africa. This weekend, I found several interesting topics in articles written on corporate social responsibility in South Africa.
1. Can Corporate Social Responsibility Put the Brakes on HIV in Africa? (link)
2. How HIV/AIDS Impacts Corporations, and How Corporations Can Impact HIV/AIDS (link)
Some of the topics covered in the articles include the new requirement enforced by the Johannesburg Securities Exchange to abide by the second King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa in 2003 and the trend for corporations operating in Africa to outsource their CSR to NGOs. The effectiveness of the private sector's corporate social responsibility programs currently in place and how the outsourcing of CSR to NGOs may form the bridge between the private sector and NGOs are possible paper topics. One issue to consider if I decide to look into the effectiveness of CSR in terms of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, is the fact that most of Africa remains rural and people living in rural Africa practice subsistence farming, which means certain CSR programs will not affect them at all. In this sense, can CSR make any difference in a world, in which most people are self-employed?