World AIDS Day Toolkit for Business

This World AIDS Day, more than others in recent years past, is significant.

2011 marked the 30^th anniversary of the first diagnosis of the disease that would come to be known as AIDS in the United States. Since that time, we’ve made great strides to end the spread of the epidemic, yet both domestically and abroad, HIV/AIDS diagnoses continue.

In advance of World AIDS Day on December 1, GBCHealth, one of the leading private sector coalitions advocating for improved global health, has released their World AIDS Day Toolkit.

GBCHealth’s Toolkit gives resources, tools and research to help companies establish successful HIV/AIDS initiatives beyond December 1. It’s one of the most comprehensive resources available on the web today for companies and nonprofits alike.

Today more than ever before we’re seeing companies establish innovative ways to have a positive impact on society. Two of the companies working against the HIV/AIDS epidemic are Chevron and BD. 

Chevron has long believed there “is no wiser investment than an investment in the health of people,” and they put their words into action through their partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Their work together began in 2008 when Chevron and the Global Fund established the single largest private sector partnership to date, contributing $55 million over six years.

Since 2008, Chevron’s work to fight HIV/AIDS has yielded some incredible results including:

• Over 3.7 million people receiving HIV/AIDS education across the world including 378,632 in Indonesia, 1.5 million Thailand and 1.9 million in South Africa.
• In Thailand, Chevron partnered with Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) to organize an HIV/AIDS Education Youth Camp, strengthening leadership skills and HIV/AIDS awareness of 1,000 youth leaders.

Showing how they are uniquely positioned to help fight the HIV epidemic, BD, a leading medical technology and device company, is donating its expertise and resources to fight HIV/AIDS. For over a decade, BD has been working with the World Health Organization to stop the spread of HIV through unsafe medical practices. They also support of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in its quest for a safe, effective and accessible HIV/AIDS vaccine.  BD pledged $1 million and donated its advanced BD FACSCaliburTM Automated Cell Analysis System to help monitor immune response to promising vaccines as they are being developed and tested.

Thirty years into the epidemic, we’re seeing companies donate not only funds but also their resources and expertise to fight HIV/AIDS worldwide. I encourage you to visit GBCHealth’s Toolkit to learn more about these projects. Also, please feel free to share your thoughts on the Toolkit or other groundbreaking HIV/AIDS initiatives in the comments section.

A final business highlight on combatting HIV/AIDS

The Dow Chemical Company and Rehoboth Children's Village in Durban, South Africa, are working together to fight HIV/AIDS. Rehoboth houses orphaned children of the epidemic and teaches the importance of strong character and openness to combat stigma around the disease. The children at Rehoboth are changing the perceptions about HIV at their schools and helping to create awareness about the disease in their communities.