04 February 2002

International Corporate Leaders Commit to Anti-Disease Campaign

Statement aims to reduce TB, malaria by 50 percent worldwide

Business leaders are calling on companies around the world to enter the international campaign against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Leaders of the Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF) issued their statement at the WEF annual meeting in New York City February 1.

The move comes as international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS have urged broader support in the fight against disease, maintaining that all social sectors must be involved to reduce the world's annual death toll of almost 6 million from these diseases.

"Effective partnerships lead to coordination of efforts between the public and private sectors, draw on the complementary expertise of diverse organizations, and help put the systems and infrastructures in place to broaden access to effective care and treatment," said Raymond Gilmartin, chief executive officer of the Merck pharmaceutical company, speaking in his capacity as a member of the WEF's Global Health Initiative.

Representatives from some of the best-known names in the corporate world are among the 30 companies that signed the statement, including Exxon Mobil Corporation, Coca-Cola Company, and DaimlerChrysler.

The statement calls for business leaders to make the anti-disease campaign a business priority through workplace and community programs for education and advocacy. It also expresses support for the goals of international health organizations to achieve a 50-per cent reduction in tuberculosis and malaria by 2010 and a 25-percent reduction in HIV.

Following is the WEF press release:

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

PRESS RELEASE

http://www.weforum.org

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM CEOS CALL FOR GREATER CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT AGAINST HIV/AIDS, TB AND MALARIA

Leading CEOs from the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative issued an Executive Statement today as a rallying cry to the business community to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria

New York, 1 February 2002 - The member companies of the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative (GHI) today joined with global health leaders and issued a call to the business leaders of the world to increase their efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.

Business leaders Raymond Gilmartin, Chief Executive Officer of Merck & Co.; G��an Lindahl, Chairman-Designate, Anglo American, and newly nominated private-sector representative to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; and Anthony Ruys, Chief Executive Officer-elect, Heineken, presented the Executive Statement and spoke of the contributions the private sector can make.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), spoke of her vision of public-private partnership as the future hope for addressing HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, citing the Stop TB Partnership and Roll Back Malaria as examples.

"Effective partnerships lead to coordination of efforts between the public and private sectors, draw on the complementary expertise of diverse organizations, and help put the systems and infrastructures in place to broaden access to effective care and treatment," said Gilmartin.

The GHI is also focusing on practical measures that start with member companies' own workforces. Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Hank McKinnell noted that the global business community is encouraging effective health communications with its own employees and their families. "Improving health literacy - the ability to understand and take appropriate actions to remain healthy - will make a significant impact in curtailing the spread of infectious diseases. This kind of practical and targeted approach, coupled with our commitment to effective partnerships, can only have a major impact on public health."

"Partners from all the sections of society are needed to bring vital support to global and country health action," said Brundtland. "The private sector plays a central role in the economic and social fabric of any country. As the World Economic Forum Global Health Initiative has shown, business can join the battle against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other conditions, alongside civil society and under the stewardship of national governments. They can make a difference."

"The fight against AIDS needs to be part of every aspect of business life: in providing for workforces, in participating in community life and in dealings with other businesses," emphasized Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The UNAIDS Partnership Menus, being presented today with the GHI Report, result from close public-private collaboration between the World Economic Forum, the UN Foundation and UNAIDS. The menus illustrate concrete opportunities for businesses and foundations to engage in the response to AIDS in countries. Piot stressed, "Corporate support to country-based actions, including through public-private partnerships such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, is critical to turn the tide of the HIV epidemic."

"The only way we will win the battle against HIV/AIDS is with a massive mobilization of private sector resources and a clear way to deploy those resources where they are most needed. The UN Foundation provided early funding for the UNAIDS Partnerships Menus because we see them as an excellent way to provide the private sector with specific options for participating in the war against HIV/AIDS. The UN Foundation Board congratulates the World Economic Forum and its members for embracing the

Partnership Menus as part of the Global Health Initiative, and for providing businesses around the world a clear tool to join the fight," said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation.

"It is widely recognized that poverty is a key driver of the HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria epidemics," said Lindahl. "Private sector investment in developing countries, is an essential element in any strategy against poverty and, therefore, in disease reduction. Many businesses have shown that through commitment and a proactive approach to managing HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, both in the workforce and in local communities, they have been able to reduce the impact of these epidemics. Disease reduction is a critical factor for business success in developing countries and it is important to recognize that we can maximize the impact of our interventions when we work in partnership with other stakeholders."

The Global Health Initiative Executive Statement is signed by 30 companies from a broad range of sectors including: Abbott Laboratories, Accenture, Alcoa, Anglo American, AstraZeneca, A.T. Kearney, BHP Billiton Limited, The Boots Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, The Coca-Cola Company, DaimlerChrysler, De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, Eni, Eskom, Exxon Mobil Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, Heineken, Kuwait Industries Co. Holding, McDonald's Corporation, McKinsey & Company, Merck & Co., M-Cell/MTN, MTV Networks, Nestl�� Pfizer, Statoil Group, Telkom, Transnet, Unilever. Reflecting their close collaboration, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Soros Foundation/Open Society Institute and the United Nations Foundation have also endorsed the GHI Executive Statement.

The Statement calls for business leaders to make the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria a business priority. It emphasizes the opportunities for the private sector to contribute to turning the tide against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, diseases that strike hard at the most vulnerable - including women and children - and young people entering what should be their most productive work years. It cites a range of ways that the private sector can make a difference, including workplace programmes, community assistance programmes, corporate advocacy, national and global education efforts, in-kind involvement and financial support.

The vision is for companies to contribute meaningfully to the achievement of the Global Goals for 2010 as established by Stop TB, Roll Back Malaria and UNAIDS, specifically:

• 50% reduction in the disease burden of TB and malaria
• 25% reduction in HIV

The UNAIDS Partnership Menus are designed to help businesses and foundations identify effective and specific ways of participating in the response to AIDS in different countries. Menus are currently available for Brazil, India and Zambia. Future menus are planned to be launched at the World Economic Forum's Regional Summits in 2002.

The World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative (GHI) is designed to foster greater private sector engagement in the global battle against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The GHI consists of companies representing the automotive, consumer goods, energy, food and beverage, media, metals and mining, pharmaceutical and telecommunications sectors in collaboration with UNAIDS and the Roll Back Malaria and Stop TB programmes of the WHO.

The World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and society by creating partnerships between and among business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance key issues on the global agenda.

Incorporated in 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. In 1995 the Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

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