The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006) - Booz Allen Hamilton

2 Foreword
Richard Holbrooke
President & CEO of GBC
The business response to AIDS has broadened
and deepened since I was asked to lead the Global
Business Coalition (GBC) in 2001. With more than
200 member companies committed to responding
to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, the GBC is
uniquely positioned to identify trends and new
frontiers to help companies improve their response
to this pandemic. As the NGO officially designated
to mobilize the worldwide business response for
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, and as a close partner of UNAIDS, we
take this responsibility very seriously.
The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006) comes
at a critical time because it provides the first
baseline from which to evaluate the response
made by business in the global fight against
HIV/AIDS. The GBC decided that it needed to
develop a better understanding of how various
companies have shaped their response to HIV/
AIDS. From workplace programs to philanthropy
to CEO advocacy, it is clear that there is much
that business is doing to fight this pandemic, but
there is very little summary information on the
landscape of the business response.
With the generous leadership of member
company Booz Allen Hamilton, this baseline
report captures critical information on corporate
responses to HIV/AIDS over a range of criteria,
regions, and industries. The framework for
analysis is built from GBC’s recently launched
Best Practice AIDS Standard (BPAS), which was
developed from the collective work of members
since 2001.
This publication highlights both the progress
made by the private sector and the significant
potential for continued business involvement.
Business leaders have an unparalleled
opportunity to utilize their expertise, influence,
and acumen in the fight to end HIV/AIDS. The
GBC believes that businesses worldwide can
leverage their core competencies in fighting HIV/
AIDS, and a commitment to fighting this pandemic
can be a core component of a successful
business strategy.
Despite greater business involvement, we know
that the global business community is doing
only a fraction of what it could be doing to battle
the scourge of HIV/AIDS. We salute the leading
companies of the GBC that have stepped into
unchartered territory and creatively engineered
responses to HIV documented in this report.
However, we are not close to turning the tide of
HIV—nearly 13,000 people are newly infected
every day, and less than 10 percent of the 40
million people living with the virus know they are
infected. The response to AIDS requires bold
leadership and innovation. Moving to an opt-out
approach to testing, so that people know their
HIV status, is one of a number of changes in
strategies that are essential if we are to win this
war. It is critical that the public and private sectors
engage even more fully as genuine and valued
partners in the global fight against this terrible
epidemic. The State of Business and HIV/AIDS
(2006) is an important overview of the contribution
that business has already made, and a reminder
that business must play an even greater role in
tackling this monumental challenge.
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke
New York
May 2006