Ban Ki-moon and business leaders reaffirm commitment to fight AIDS

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and business leaders reaffirmed the need for public-private partnerships to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria at a meeting in New York today.

“Whether in the workplace or in the wider community, through advocacy and branding, prevention, care and treatment programmes for employees, or financial, scientific and technical commitment, the role of the private sector is indispensable,” Mr. Ban said, stressing the vital relationship between business and the UN.

He welcomed the efforts of the Global Business Coalition (GBC) – an alliance of 220 companies globally leading the corporate world’s work to eliminate HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

“The private sector has taken vital steps toward acknowledging that fighting these epidemics is an important business issue,” said Richard Holbrooke, President of the GBC. “Increased resources from all sectors and effective collaboration are essential to win this war.”

The meeting’s participants discussed collective efforts uniting corporations, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities affected by the epidemics to pool resources to make large strides and facilitate economies of scale.

Business leaders also illustrated how their respective companies have protected and educated their own staff, as well as prevented and treated the diseases.

“The business community has tremendous expertise and strategic resources to offer in the response to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and is collaborating with others in impactful and unique ways,” said the GBC’s Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart. “GBC is committed to working with our member companies and our partners in the public sector to maximize our joint impact.”