The CCA HIV/AIDS Initiative has recently formed an Advisory Group to provide ongoing advice and direction to the Council's newest Initiative.
Policy and program design and evaluation are fundamental components of the Initiative, and the Advisory Group will be critical in guiding the CCA in these and other essential aspects of this Council initiative.
The Advisory Group is co-chaired by Mr. Stephen Witort, Director of Federal Government Relations at 3M Public Affairs and Government Markets and Dr. Terra Thomas, President and CEO of Human Resources Development Institute, Inc. The Group has convened two meetings since its inception in March.
The primary goal of the CCA HIV/AIDS Initiative is to engage the private sector in HIV prevention care and treatment with the ultimate objective of reducing HIV infection rates and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on the African continent. In order to accomplish this goal, at a minimum, the Advisory Group aims to guide the Initiative to:
- Determine the prevalence of workplace policies and programs within CCA member companies using a survey developed by the Futures Group International.
- Engage all CCA membership in the development and implementation of HIV work plans.
- Establish evaluation criteria to determine the progress of the CCA Initiative.
- Implement fundraising events to sustain the CCA Gates Foundation grant.
In addition to the co-chairs, the members to date are as follows:
Tamela Hultman (AllAfrica.com); Susan Bornstein (Technoserve); Anna Pavlova (American Soybean Assoc.); Sasha Gainullin (Noel Group); Jeff Jordan (Futures Group); Percy Wilson (IRC Group) John Teeuws (The Washington Post); Nick Welch (Shell), Steven Phillips (Exxon Mobil)
We will also be inviting a select number of representatives from our partnerships and potentially other influential and experienced members of the private sector and HIV/AIDS community to join as ex-officio members. Should any CCA member have an interest in the Advisory Group, please contact Victor Barnes, Director of the HIV/AIDS Initiative, at vbarnes@africacncl.org.
The first meeting was held on April 30, 2004 and the Group will continue to meet every 6 weeks.
