United Press International - Saturday, 2 June 2001
Kurt Samson, UPI Medical Writer

On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on business leaders to follow the pharmaceutical industry's lead and play a greater role in global initiatives to fight the pandemic, especially in Africa.

Annan told an audience of industry leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that at its current pace, the death toll from the disease in the next two decades will have a devastating impact on investment and markets throughout the word.

U.S. corporations need to recognize this now and prioritize proactive approaches to help developing countries, especially through partnerships with entities already engaged in the struggle, he said.

While the U.S. business community represents one of the strongest forces in the world, "it has yet to be fully utilized" in the war against AIDS, Annan said. "It is high time we tapped your strength to the full."

Thomas Donohue, chairman and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, said U.S. businesses have an obligation to join the fight.

"Why should business care enough about this epidemic?" he asked. "Because fighting a disease so deadly is simply the right thing to do. There's no such thing as a soul-less corporation. What it all comes down to is this: business is all about people."

Donohue said U.S. companies operating in developing countries should take a leadership role by educating their workers about the risks of HIV/AIDS, by sponsoring medical programs with anti-AIDS drugs and by extending health care benefits for workers and their families who are infected.

"Fighting AIDS is in the best interest of this country's businesses," Donohue said. "Businesses are only as prosperous as the people who work for them, the communities they serve and the customers they service."

He said the AIDS epidemic discourages investment and has "severely" damaged Africa's market potential, limiting opportunities for businesses.

U.S. businesses are in an excellent position to help combat the disease by forming partnerships with government and private business initiatives and those being run by foundations and non-governmental organizations.

"Battling the AIDS epidemic is everyone's responsibility," he said.

Paul Weir, vice president of public relations for Coca-Cola's Southern Africa operations, said being on the front lines of the epidemic in Africa has demanded the company's attention for years. Coca-Cola is the largest U.S. employer in sub-Saharan Africa.

"We all know AIDS has no geographical limits," he said. "This issue has been at the core of our business in Africa because it's been at the center of our employees' lives. The devastation of AIDS in communities across the continent touches us every day."

He said Coca Cola is in the final stages of developing a strategic plan that will address many of the issues the company sees as paramount in the war against the disease.

"We expect to make an announcement later this month," he said.

South Africa, which has been hit especially hard by the disease, will see its gross domestic product shrink 17 percent by the end of the decade due to deaths and loss of productivity from AIDS.

Unless current trends are slowed, the total work force in 15 African countries will have shrunk by 24 million people by the year 2020.

In his presentation before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Annan stressed that the disease is rapidly taking hold in other parts of the developing world.

"In the English-speaking Caribbean, it is now the leading cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 44. In Russia, there were more new infections in 2000 than in all previous years combined. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of new cases has risen by more than two-thirds in the past two years."

Especially troubling are AIDS rates in China and India, two of America's largest export markets and sources of supply.

India will soon be the country with the largest number of people infected with HIV, and China is not far behind. By 2005, the two countries will have 10 million HIV-positive persons.

"As 42 percent of U.S. exports go to markets in the developing world, the negative impact of AIDS on American business should be obvious," Annan said.

The secretary-general has proposed a Global AIDS and Health Fund that will accept contributions from governments and private donors and serve as a mechanism for raising the estimated $10 billion per year needed to address the disease in the developing world.

As an investment, the returns will be more than worthwhile in both economic and humanitarian terms, Annan said.

"$10 billion a year to defeat (AIDS) seems fairly reasonable -- in fact, a bargain," he said.
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