The Business Response to HIV/AIDS: Impact and lesson learned

light manufacturing. This gender differentiation has promoted the migration of sex workers to these
localities, for example to the shipbuilding areas in Gujarat, India, and the mining regions of South
Africa. Such situations can affect anyone, including business workforces, customers, and the
communities in which they are active. For this reason, the vulnerability of populations to HIV/AIDS is
an important consideration for the private sector.
4. THE PUBLIC AND NON-PROFIT SECTOR RESPONSE
Not surprisingly, the main response to the epidemic so far has come from public sector agencies since
HIV/AIDS is a public health and development issue of the highest order. In the early years, the main
aims were to:
* Identify and understand HIV in its various forms
* Clearly identify the means of transmission
* Protect the public blood supply
* Carry out prevention education, information and communication campaigns to the general public
and those whose circumstances put them at particular risk
* Research new drugs, vaccines and treatments, seeking a cure
* Create codes of conduct for governments, employers and others to protect human and employment
rights of those with HIV/AIDS.
Work remains to be done in all these areas. The vast majority of human and financial resources
committed to fighting HIV/AIDS are deployed by the public sector, but non-profits - or as they are
more commonly known in the developing world, non-governmental organisations - have also played a
vital role in combating HIV/AIDS. They can provide real expertise in social research, care for those
with the disease, and public education campaigns for specific groups and the wider public. While their
activities may be small in relative terms compared with public sector agencies, they often undertake
highly innovative work. The direct contact that NGOs have with vulnerable populations allows them
to influence public policy through example and lobbying. They tend to work closely with the public
sector, but are becoming increasingly important to businesses as they seek to find ways to respond to
HIV/AIDS.
NGOs involved with business are predominately working as policy advisors and service providers.
Some receive philanthropic support from companies for their work. They also undertake lobbying for
general changes in business policy on such issues as employment rights for individuals with HIV/AIDS
and drug pricing policies adopted by pharmaceutical companies.
The recent proliferation of internet and email-based discussion groups on various aspects of
HIV/AIDS is becoming an important mechanism for sharing information amongst the various sectors.
Until recently, action has been rather fragmented and collaboration between the public, non-profit
sectors and the corporate sector on HIV/AIDS extremely limited. The establishment in December
1999 of the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa (IPAA) is an example of the increasing
recognition of the importance of collaboration, drawing upon the strengths of individual sectors. It
includes African governments; African and international NGOs; the United Nations System; donors;
foundations; NGO networks; and the private sector. This partnership is an attempt to scale up
significantly efforts in Africa to reduce the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS.
The growing involvement by business referred to above is largely a result of the increasingly tangible
impacts that HIV/AIDS is having on business operations worldwide. The following section clarifies
this impact and the important role it has in convincing businesses to engage in the response to
HIV/AIDS.

THE BUSINESS RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS: Impact and lessons learned

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