Publication: Monitoring Private Sector response to HIV/AIDS: The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006): A Baseline Report

During the opening day of the UN High Level Meetings on AIDS, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) unveiled The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006): A Baseline Report.

A GBC/Booz Allen Hamilton collaborative effort, the report analyzes the best practices in business responses to HIV/AIDS. The report shows that a few hundred major corporations have become increasingly involved, demonstrating paths for engagement. The State of Business and AIDS provides insight into the major trends as they vary according to region, industry, enterprise scale, and engagement type.

The report can be found on line at www.businessfightsaids.org/StateofBusinessandAIDS2006

As the GBC grew from 17 members in 2001 to 216 members in 2006, the breadth and depth of business engagement in the fight against HIV/AIDS rapidly expanded, but the best practices had never been analyzed. This is the first study of its kind, surveying best practice trends and providing a base-line for regular updates to monitor progress.

The study was designed using GBC's Best Practice AIDS Standard (BPAS)TM, a 10-component self-assessment tool enabling companies to monitor their business AIDS response and examine their progress. The report takes a snapshot of the best practices of multinational companies responding to the pandemic. Drawing on data compiled during an April 2006 online survey of 75 GBC member companies representing 17 industries, the report also contains qualitative information from a subset of 30 companies, who participated in a detailed interview program.

The report's statistics illustrate the best practices of leading companies but the large majority of corporations operating worldwide have yet to register HIV/AIDS as a business issue. The GBC's mission is to accelerate this momentum towards private sector engagement through workplace policy and programs, community support including to PWLA organizations, use of business core competencies and expertise, and advocacy.

Key findings show that the private sector has become much more likely to provide treatment to its employees as the cost of medication (antiretroviral treatment) has decreased over the last six years-from around US $10,000 to US $140-300 per person per year. In high HIV prevalence African regions, more than 70 percent of companies surveyed are fully subsidizing staff access to HIV treatment. There is also an increasing trend to expand treatment beyond individual employees. Globally, 36 percent of companies surveyed are fully subsidizing treatment for direct employees and 45 percent are providing access to treatment for all dependents. Though often difficult to implement because of disease stigma, companies are also recognizing the importance of voluntary access to counseling and testing, with fifty-five percent of those surveyed providing these services.

The report also demonstrates that businesses are now registering the threat of the epidemic in emerging markets like China, India, and Russia; companies are interested in extending their HIV/AIDS programs, focusing specifically on awareness and prevention, but many expressed concern about how best to do this.

Companies surveyed expressed an interest in leveraging their core competencies in the fight against AIDS: sixty-six percent said they are donating products or services to HIV/AIDS programs and twenty-five percent said they are engaged in or considering new programs through cause-related marketing. The launch of the RED Campaign recently demonstrated this trend. RED links iconic brands such as American Express, Gap, Motorola, Converse and Emporio Armani to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Recommendations:

There is a long way to go. A sustained effort is required from business to further broaden and deepen the response through well targeted and managed programs. In doing so, companies should set priorities based on the likely impact of programs. The baseline report suggests:

• Develop strategies to work closely with suppliers and business associates to expand the network of business engagement.
• Partner with NGOs, community, and local government to develop and fund programs and initiatives with greater reach.
• Extend testing and treatment programs. Testing initiatives need to include monitoring of testing participation rates and access to viral load tests. In high prevalence areas, treatment arrangements need to be extended to dependents and post employment.
• Focus on balanced prevention and treatment. Prevention programs targeting real behavior change aligned with treatment.
• Increase the role of business in advocacy and in particular extend programs into emerging markets.
• Leverage CEO and senior leadership to dispel myths and stigma, break down workplace barriers and influence community change.
• Success comes from active collaboration. Most companies interviewed said they look at what others are doing to learn and implement based on best practice. Ninety percent of those interviewed highlighted the need for an ongoing exchange of ideas and results.
• The 2006 BPAS baseline indicates that there is a very high level of business engagement and willingness to do more. There is an increasing role for business to partner with governments and the international community and enhance joint efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS.


On the Record: "GBC was delighted to work with our member company Booz Allen on this report, which demonstrates the growing impact of corporate initiatives in response to the pandemic of our times, " said Richard Holbrooke, who in 2001, as US Ambassador to the United Nations, first brought HIV/AIDS to the Security Council agenda, ensuring global focus on this economic, security and humanitarian issue. "The study shows that developing and implementing an effective HIV/AIDS program takes time and commitment, however in five years of committing to HIV/AIDS, companies surveyed have more than doubled their HIV/AIDS activities."

"Businesses are now starting to view HIV/AIDS as a strategic concern rather than just a corporate responsibility issue. In addition, they are becoming increasingly creative in the way they leverage their core product services and expertise," commented Peter Parry, who led the Booz Allen Hamilton research effort and findings development.

The report is presented on the occasion of the 2006 United Nations High Level Meetings on HIV/AIDS. "We welcome this report, as the private sector is central to an effective AIDS response, and business leadership against AIDS has grown substantially since the GBC was created," commented Dr. Peter Piot. "The unparalleled capacity for innovation and strategic planning, along with the resources and reach of the business community, will be even more essential as we move forward in the effort to reverse this global epidemic."