This week, during the State of the Union Address, President Bush announced a new proposal to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and the Caribbean. The proposal for the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief calls for a five-year, $15 billion commitment, including $1 billion for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

ICP spoke with Ben Plumley, Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), to get his reaction to the President's announcement. The GBC is an alliance of international businesses focused on addressing the AIDS epidemic. The coalition was founded in 1997, and now includes a membership of 102 companies, including some of the largest companies in the world. For more information about GBC, please visit: www.businessfightsaids.org.

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ICP: Were you surprised by President Bush's announcement?

PLUMLEY: Yes, I was surprised. There are two elements that I think are positive. First is the increase in bilateral aid. I just returned from Geneva, where I was when the announcement was made that the Global Fund would receive $1 billion over a five-year period as part of this proposal. As Vice Chair of the Fund's Resource Mobilization Committee, I am looking to diversify the range of funders to the Global Fund. This announcement was important news, not just because it is an injection of resources. This support sends a strong message that the administration is making a long-term commitment to the Global Fund. Of course, the amount is not satisfactory, because more needs to happen, but it is a welcome and important first step. The amount of time President Bush spent talking about HIV/AIDS in the State of the Union Address was also important and very helpful to the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, as we try to mobilize corporations. It was a confidence boost for our advocacy efforts.

ICP: What do you think will be the biggest challenge in distributing such a large sum?

PLUMLEY: I think funding the national priorities, and effectively incorporating it into the good work that is already being done. Large amounts of funding can often divert priorities away from existing programs. With the growth of national AIDS groups, it is important to rely on and have faith in the nations' prioritization. We have to respect that. We need to ensure that the money can be incorporated to speed up existing programs.

ICP: This program will focus on Africa and the Caribbean. Why not support the other regions that have been hit hard by the epidemic?

Businesses need to look at their workers and the communities they live in. They need to understand the potential economic impact of the AIDS epidemic on new markets and labor forces.

PLUMLEY: Africa and Caribbean have the highest rates so the focus is understandable. However, we are doing work in other regions, including Southeast Asia, especially India and Thailand. We must not forget about these regions. It is critical to focus on countries like India to avert a huge, large-scale epidemic. However, the development and infrastructure of these countries is at a different stage from many African and Caribbean nations, which makes addressing the problem substantially different.

ICP: How will this announcement help the work of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS?

PLUMLEY: The announcement is very helpful to us. It shows that the Bush administration has put AIDS as one of the top 2 or 3 international issues, which is a critical part of our message. Businesses need to look at their workers and the communities they live in. They need to understand the potential economic impact of the AIDS epidemic on new markets and labor forces. The recognition from the Bush administration that the AIDS epidemic will affect economic and social stability reaffirms our message.

ICP: How do you respond to the criticism that companies are not doing enough to address this crisis?

PLUMLEY: Companies aren't doing enough to address this crisis. But, there has been a change in business thinking, especially over the last 18 months. For example, we're seeing mining and utilities companies in South Africa beginning to address the issue. I recently traveled to India, and saw many well-run business workplace programs for employees. But, it's not enough. The goal has to be making a response to AIDS standard business practice. This epidemic is making companies think long-term and immediately, in a way that no social issue has done before.

ICP: What are the benefits of a coalition such as GBC?

Companies can offer more than money to NGOs or UN institutions. They can play a broader sustainable role in communities through workplace initiatives and education.

PLUMLEY: With us the companies join a movement of businesses. Businesses do business - they are not development organizations. They need assistance to engage this issue. Companies can offer more than money to NGOs or UN institutions. They can play a broader sustainable role in communities through workplace initiatives and education. One of our main roles is in education of businesses about how they can support communities. We act as a clearinghouse of information for the different sectors, and provide the latest news. We want to go beyond just the business community, and become part of the larger AIDS community as we go forward.

ICP: What is the biggest challenge for the coalition, and how will you meet it?

PLUMLEY: Our biggest challenge remains convincing the business sector that responding to AIDS should be at the core of business practices. Our membership has increased from 17 companies to 102, so we're making progress. Although we know the kind of programs we want businesses to aspire to, we have seen low participation in testing and treatment programs. This situation is probably not from a lack of commitment from the businesses, but from the continued stigma and discrimination toward AIDS. One of our goals this year is tackling this problem, and encouraging businesses to implement non-discrimination policies, that go beyond hanging a poster on the wall. We need to change the workplace conditions to make employees more comfortable in dealing with HIV/AIDS.

We also need to make U.S.-based companies aware of the global impact of the epidemic, and illustrate how it affects their business goals. One US-based IT company that I work with predicts Brazil, South Africa, and India will be its next markets. While this company may not have a large labor force in these countries, it is in their best interest to ensure that there is a stable economy in these developing countries. It is important that businesses understand how the AIDS epidemic affects economic development and social stability, and consequently businesses need to make it a core part of doing business.




Contributed by Elizabeth A. Amery, Editor of Inside Corporate Philanthropy. Reprinted with permission from onPhilanthropy.com, a division of Changing Our World, inc.

To read another Global Envision article about corporate involvement in the fight against AIDS see AIDS Drugs Worth Their Weight in Gold.