“The private sector, through its workforce, its ability to advocate at the highest levels of government, and its economic ties to both donor countries and those hardest-hit by HIV/AIDS, has the unparalleled opportunity to change the course of the pandemic for individuals and families, communities and even nations. The fight against HIV/AIDS cannot be won without it.”
Excerpt from an article by
Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, in the 2003 December/January issue of the CCA Africa Journal

HIV/AIDS is a serious threat to the economic productivity and profitability of countries with high infection rates as well as to the global economy. The disease has the most damaging impact on the younger population, and the loss of trained and skilled workers in their prime has severe implications for business and development.

• "The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Business" (A CCA resource document)
• AIDS and Business Resources (general resources)
• Agriculture, Hospitality, Information and Communication Technology, SMEs, Mining, Oil & Gas (sector specific resources)
• Country specific resources

Across the globe, HIV/AIDS continues to pose a grave threat to health and living standards. An estimated 38.6 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2005, and an estimated 4.1 million became newly infected with HIV. In the same year, an estimated 2.8 million lost their lives to AIDS. In regions with growing epidemics, governments and civil society are working to stop the spread of the disease, but there is a need for businesses, which have ready access to large numbers of individuals as well as useful skills in disseminating messages and distributing goods, to become more involved in assisting in the fight against AIDS.

HIV/AIDS in the workplace raises the cost of doing business because of the following side effects:

• Lowered productivity
• Excessive absenteeism
• Increased labor turnover, including the loss of experienced personnel
• Greater recruitment, training and retraining costs
• Decline in worker morale
• Increased company health care and death benefits costs

The past five years have seen an upsurge in the corporate response to HIV/AIDS. The first companies to respond by creating employee programs were heavy industries who witnessed first-hand the impact on their workforce in hard-hit regions. At the same time, companies that manufacture HIV-related products, mainly drugs and diagnostics, started developing programs to support access to health services and treatment. This set the foundation for corporate engagement on HIV through workplace and community programs providing AIDS education, and access to services for testing, treatment and care. Subsequently, the scope of business action has expanded through advocacy campaigns; applying business products and services to AIDS programming; and working with local communities in partnerships.

It is in the companies' interest, and an example of good corporate citizenship, to develop HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programs; to assist in the provision of treatment for opportunistic infections; and in cases where low cost HIV/AIDS medications are available, to aid in the distribution of anti-retroviral treatment.