Seven global corporations operating in developing countries said they will use their staff and facilities to expand HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes into the communities where they do business, cooperating with efforts by the United Nations and the local public.
The seven, all members of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, are Anglo-American, ChevronTexaco, DaimlerChrysler, Eskom, Heineken, Lafarge and Tata Steel.
The plan was unveiled at the residence of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, US Ambassador Randall Tobias and US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.
They were joined by three international agency heads: Dr. Lee Jong-wook of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Richard Feachem of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Dr. Peter Piot of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Using existing infrastructure will reduce the costs of new and scaled-up national programmes, the corporations said.
“The GBC has always been at the forefront of innovative responses to AIDS through its highly effective advocacy with the business sector,” Dr. Piot said. “This new initiative is one of the very first examples of genuine partnership between the public and private sector.”
The initiative will start in Cameroon, Ghana, India, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and South Africa.