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

Key lesson: Small enterprise response linked to core business activities

* Business description:
IT and marketing consulting company, focused on Internet m
advertising, communication and public relations projects and
include both multinational and national companies operating
Republic.

" Number of employees:
" Contact:

2 partners
Alexander Lichy - ALMS
Trnkova 1771
CZ-142 00 Praha 4-Krc
Czech Republic
[phone]
[phone]
[email protected]

" Tel:
" Fax:
* Email:

1. Motivation for action
ALMS wanted to undertake a project to contribute to the
prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Czech Republic, identifying the
potential of using their core business practices and skills in IT
and project management. Given the fact that half of all
people who acquire HIV become infected before the age of
25, ALMS recognised that as an internet-focused company
they had the potential to reach young people, a high level
internet user group. ALMS also identified that there was a
significant lack of initiatives of this type in the Czech
language on the internet and that a considerable demand
existed.
2. Business response to HIV/AIDS
In 1998, ALMS designed the HIV/AIDS focused information
website "AIDS Server" in cooperation with Nadace pro zivot
(Foundation for Life), a Czech NGO with experience in
HIV/AIDS prevention, the Third School of Medicine, and the
National Health Institute. The principle goal of the website
was to generate a cost-effective and accessible tool for
providing young people with appropriate information on
HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
The website (http://aids.alms.cz) was launched in July 1998
and 100,000 copies of a CD-ROM containing an off-line
version of the website were distributed throughout the Czech
Republic. The website is regularly updated and includes:
* The on-line Czech version of the book "AIDS: Facts and
Hopes"; an extensive guide to the virus and prevention
responses.

* An on-line virtual consulting
arketing and room, acting as an anonymous
web design. Clients question and answer facility with
in the Czech specialist advice provided by the
project's partners from the medical
institutes.
* Information on useful HIV/AIDS
literature and statistics, national
HIV/AIDS service and testing
institutions, other relevant on-line
resources and websites and a
national media monitoring service.
* Reports on the activities of
Nadace pro zivot Foundation.
* An on-line questionnaire to map
opinions and behaviour of the website visitors.
The costs of ongoing support, innovation and maintenance
had brought the total costs in 1999 to approximately
180,000 Czech Crowns ($US 45,000), with 48,450 Czech
Crowns being covered by the NGO Nadace pro zivot. In
addition, a number of Czech internet content providers
offered pro-bono assistance with the on-line advertising
campaigns.
3. Results and lessons
The number of visitors to the "AIDS Server" website is
monitored and has seen regular and stable interest.
Moreover there has been an increasing number of visitors to
the interactive element of the website, particularly for the
on-line virtual consulting room, with increasing numbers of
questions being posted.
ALMS has received particular praise for this project, being
chosen as one of the top Czech internet projects by the
prestigious Czech economic magazine Profit. In addition,
ALMS has received extensive worldwide publicity and
recognition of its work through winning a Global Business
Council on HIV&AIDS award for Business Excellence in the
response to HIV/AIDS. Alexander Lichy, Partner of ALMS, puts
the success of this project down to developing a project that
matches the company's core business skills and technical
expertise (IT, public relations and project management) with
the needs of the target audience.

12

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

63