African Businesses Join Forces Against HIV/AIDS

As part of a larger effort to develop innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors and civil society in the fight against HIV/AIDS, The Corporate Council on Africa, The World Bank and The World Economic Forum (WEF), in partnership with UNAIDS, SIDA-ENTREPRISES, the Global Business Coalition (GBC), PharmAccess Foundation, GTZ and ILO is hosting the HIV/AIDS Private Sector Mobilization Forum for Francophone Africa, in Marrakech, Morocco, 19-23 June 2006.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst-affected region in the world. In 2005, there were 24.5 million in sub-Saharan Africa living with HIV. Globally, 64% of all people living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa.  Almost 90% of the total number of children living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa.  HIV/AIDS hits those aged 15 to 24 the hardest—they have the greatest number of new infections. These young adults are the current and future workforce and HIV/AIDS has therefore become a critical issue for every company in the world today.

The Forum, which builds on the success of private sector partnerships in Anglophone Africa, and brings together leaders of business coalitions, labor unions, employers federations, national AIDS councils, donor agencies, NGOs and public and private sector policy makers.  It provides an opportunity to share experiences, develop action plans for workplace and community programs, and learn about implementation support tools, review mechanisms to access funding, and build partnerships to fully engage the power and resources of the private sector in national HIV/AIDS agendas.

“There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that private sector involvement in the fight against AIDS is crucial for not only good corporate citizenship but also for corporate self-interest and survival.  Businesses cannot afford to neglect HIV/AIDS,” explained Ms. Elizabeth Ashbourne from The World Bank. “The private sector’s participation is also critical for scaling up national responses in the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS.”

Businesses are hit hard by HIV/AIDS, but they are also in a unique position to help fight back. The private sector interacts with most HIV infected people in a country—directly in employment relations or more indirectly through employee families, customers, or as community members. Victor Barnes, Director of the HIV/AIDS Initiative at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), emphasized, “No one can afford to be left behind, and no one has the luxury of saying that this group or that group are more or less important to the effort.” By joining forces to fight the disease, the private sector, together with government and civil society, has an opportunity to contribute to the development and sustainability of a vibrant and productive business environment.

The Forum seeks to promote a dialogue between stakeholders to clarify and define roles and set common priorities to achieve greater public-private collaboration in addressing HIV/AIDS; develop a cohesive strategy for private sector engagement and implementation options for multisectoral partnerships, including leadership and outreach, and complex issues associated with the expansion of treatment and care programs

“We believe this event is an extraordinary opportunity for the private sector and its partners,” said Dr. Abdallah Ould Horma, Executive Secretary of the Mauritanian National AIDS Committee Against AIDS.  “The forum has been an excellent platform to share best practices and current experiences in order to strengthen HIV/AIDS program implementation and management at the business and national levels.”