Introduction

Worldwide, business has reacted to the threat of HIV/AIDS, as have the public and non-profit sectors. Some companies, for instance, have introduced preventive measures to protect their employees and care for those who are infected. Others have undertaken cause-related marketing activities, worked with suppliers and local communities and made philanthropic contributions to support awareness-raising and education efforts. With a few exceptions, however, corporations have not been at the forefront of the fight against AIDS.

Yet business has a vital role to play in the worldwide campaign on HIV/AIDS. The work will only be fully effective when business makes its unique contribution locally, nationally and globally in helping stop the spread of the disease. The time is ripe for business to join in strategic partnerships with the public and non-profit sectors, to make low-cost and effective interventions that support, expand and amplify work started in the other sectors.

The Business Response to HIV/AIDS: Innovation and Partnership is a first attempt to draw together the global experience of business in fighting the epidemic. In doing so, it seeks to give a new perspective on how business, on its own account and in partnership with others, can better achieve its goals in, and make a more effective contribution to, the wider campaign against HIV/AIDS. The report is structured in four sections:

1. A brief review of the nature, impact and spread of HIV/AIDS and the public and non-profit sector response to date.

2. A summary of what is known of the corporate response to HIV/AIDS.

3. An examination of how the corporate contribution can be developed, and especially in partnership with the work of other sectors.

4. A number of profiles that supplement the information on the corporate response and partnership building.