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

to engage in partnerships with business, the benefits for NGOs and the public sector (access to
workforces, communication networks, human and financial resources and influence over policy) need to
be higher than the risks. The barriers can be overcome through mechanisms such as ensuring a diverse
funding source, which maintains an NGO's integrity for independent evaluation and intervention (see
Profile 17).
B. Scope of activities
Within the common agenda it is necessary to identify the locations and levels of activities to be
undertaken within the partnership. Section 3 in this publication has highlighted the areas in which
business can involve itself in responding to HIV/AIDS; core business operations, business partners,
communities, and advocacy and leadership. Partnerships have been central to most of the activities
within these areas, involving operational and strategic actions, locally, nationally, and internationally.
Figure 11 summarises some of the key activities in which businesses can enter into partnerships in the
response to the disease.
FIGURE 11 Scope of partnership activities in response to HIV/AIDS

Communities
* Local community HIV/AIDS
education and prevention -
e.g. focus on high-risk groups
and youth
* Awareness raising
to prevent discrimination of
people living with HIV/AIDS
* Philanthropic activity with
HIV/AIDS education and care
organisations and projects.
Advocacy & leadership
* Collective collaboration in advocating
and lobbying for greater response to
HIV/AIDS by all sectors and the general
public
* Independently led advocacy among
peers and local business environment.

Core business operations
* Company HIV/AIDS policies -
e.g. non-discrimination
* Workplace education and
prevention - e.g. peer education
and access to condoms
* Medical care and assistance -
e.g. treatments and counselling
Monitoring the effectiveness of
rogrammes and HIV prevalence
ouraging clients to adopt
IDS strategies through
ial incentives

Business partners
* Enabling supply chains to address
HIV/AIDS in the workplace
* Collective business cooperation -
e.g. sharing policy and
programme material and skills
* Customer education and
prevention - e.g. social
marketing, in-store initiatives.

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