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| CEOs Ask for Fulfillment of G8 AIDS Commitments | |
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22 May 2006
Today, several multinational company CEOs and senior executives call on G8 countries to implement their Gleneagles HIV/AIDS commitments. The company leaders strategize with leading British politicians on how global companies can support the British government and the G8’s goal to strengthen health care systems and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the developing world, particularly in Africa. Moderated by newscaster and journalist Jon Snow, the policy briefing, "Public Private Partnerships & the Fight Against AIDS: Tackling Global Economic and Security Threats," at Reuters’ Canary Wharf headquarters is co-hosted by GBC President Richard Holbrooke, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, and GBC Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman of Anglo American plc. Individuals scheduled to participate in the event include: British political representatives Gareth Thomas, MP, Undersecretary of State in Department for International Development (Labour Party) and George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor (Conservative Party); CEOs and Senior Executives Mervyn Davies (Standard Chartered Bank), Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones (L’Oréal), Gary Watts (SSL International), Ken Lacey (Accenture), Gary Cohen (BD - Becton Dickinson & Company), Jonathan Oppenheimer (DeBeers), Jonathan Klein (Getty Images), Maria Eitel (Nike Foundation) and Lord Andrew Turnbull (Booz Allen Hamilton); International AIDS Advocates Graça Machel (Foundation for Community Development in Mozambique), Richard Feachem (Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria) and Peter Piot (UNAIDS); and other business leaders and dignitaries. Leaders debate new strategies to mobilize resources for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; develop health systems and infrastructure to support scale-up toward Universal Access targets for HIV prevention and treatment; build partnerships to address the particular HIV vulnerability of adolescent girls and young women; and agree on priorities for research, development and new technologies. "The UK government has taken extraordinary leadership to prioritize HIV/AIDS on the G8 agenda and through the Africa Commission. The global business community must come together to support African leaders in their responses to HIV/AIDS," commented Sir Mark Moody-Stuart. At the event, four companies will announce commitments to facilitate the implementation of specific HIV/AIDS aspects of the Gleneagles G8 Communiqué. Standard Chartered Bank is utilizing its core areas of expertise by offering Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanisms the opportunity to include Standard Chartered executives on these committees. In addition, the Bank is offering Global Fund Principal Recipients preferential banking services. Both offerings have proven successful in selected markets across the Banks’ network in Asia and Africa. Mervyn Davies, Chief Executive of Standard Chartered commented, "From the Gambia to the Philippines, Standard Chartered is delighted to be working with the Global Fund. We are using our core skills to increase efficiency in the distribution of funds and provide banking services to the Fund Recipients. Our commitment now is to capture these pockets of good practice and roll them out across all our markets to maximise our support and ensure the Fund's money gets to those who most need it." Accenture, in collaboration with UNAIDS and its cosponsors, will leverage its global presence and strategic capabilities to support countries in scaling up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Ken Lacey, global managing partner of Accenture’s Health & Life Sciences practice said: "Accenture is pleased to team with the UNAIDS secretariat and its cosponsors globally to leverage our capabilities working with the world's leading healthcare organisations to develop measurable, long-term plans to fight HIV/AIDS. These plans are consistent with achieving our vision of patient-centered connected health." Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS commented: "UNAIDS is very happy to partner with Accenture to move the response to AIDS from a crisis management mode to a long-term strategic and sustainable response, by helping to remove major managerial bottlenecks in countries." Nike Foundation will announce a new $200,000 commitment to mobilize business globally through the GBC’s Healthy Women Healthy Economies initiative. The partnership will create a forum for businesses and multilateral organizations to effectively support girls and women through economic empowerment and access to HIV health services and education; it will also provide an efficient framework for companies to employ their products, services, expertise and advocacy to support research, demonstration programs and messaging on behalf of global girls and women. Maria Eitel, President of the Nike Foundation said, "The Nike Foundation is excited to partner in this critical partnership with GBC's Healthy Women Healthy Economies Initiative to empower young women and girls to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Ensuring girls and young women gain access to health services, economic livelihood and education is critical to reversing their vulnerability to the disease and ensuring they realize their potential as a powerful force in the fight against poverty. We look forward to leveraging our efforts with the GBC and bringing a definitive programmatic and advocacy focus to Healthy Women Healthy Economies." BD will commit to the Millennium Villages Project by becoming an HIV/AIDS collaborating partner. The commitment will include $200,000 in funding for their global HIV/AIDS coordinator and in-country health coordinators, as well as collaboration on critical infrastructure and core competency needs. "BD admires the leadership of the Millennium Villages Project in translating the Millennium Development Goals into practical interventions that impact the cycle of poverty and disease," said Gary Cohen, President, BD Medical. "We are committed to this project because it will help to strengthen health care capacity in Africa, which is fundamental to battling HIV/AIDS." Also at the event, Booz Allen Hamilton and GBC announced the publication of the first baseline report -- The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006) -- to be released at the UN High Level Sessions on HIV/AIDS next week in New York. By highlighting the progress that business has made in fighting AIDS through workplace policy and programs, community and public sector collaboration, and in best practice sharing, the report is uniquely positioned to provide innovative private sector strategies to turn the tide on this pandemic. "These five companies and other GBC members are much needed leaders in the fight against AIDS. With 25 million people already dead and another 40 million currently carrying the virus, we can only halt the spread of this terrible disease if governments fulfill their promises and if businesses support them with their own HIV/AIDS initiatives," said Richard Holbrooke, GBC President and CEO. In the evening, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sir Elton John, European Commission President José Barroso and Mrs. Graça Machel will speak at GBC’s Annual Awards Gala, which honors global companies that have made innovative contributions to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic around the world. ### About the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) is the pre-eminent organization mobilizing the resources of the business community in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The rapidly-expanding alliance of 215 international companies is dedicated to combating the AIDS epidemic through the business sector's unique skills and expertise. GBC’s expert teams assist member companies in the design and development of specialized programs that leverage a company’s assets and business skills to tailor an individual response to the crisis. GBC is the official focal point of the private sector to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. For more information, please visit the GBC website at www.businessfightsaids.org CONTACT: Barbara Holmes +1-212-698-2120 (New York) +1-646-287 3803 (Mobile) bholmes@businessfightsaids.org |
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