Business Committed to Fight HIV/AIDS in China

Business Committed to Fight HIV/AIDS in China

April 03, 2006

    BEIJING, April 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- More than 100
business, civil society and government health
representatives from China and abroad, gathered at the
Kerry Center in Beijing on March 30, for an HIV/AIDS
workshop to exchange ideas about the role of business in
dealing with HIV/AIDS in China.
 
    They participated in a workshop organized by the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the
China Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD),
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in China and
the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS in China (GBC
China). 
 
    Participants included representatives from Chinese and
foreign businesses, the Chinese government, local and
international NGOs, and United Nations organizations.  

    Participants discussed the role of the private sector
in dealing with the deadly epidemic, designing appropriate
personnel and workplace policies, including educating
employees on discrimination of workers living with the
disease.  The executives presented and shared best
practical experiences of ways in which companies are doing
their part to stop the epidemic, and hoping to inspire
other companies to join the national campaign on HIV/AIDS
prevention and control.  This workshop is an effort to
bring that work down to a very practical level, and provide
businesses with resources they will need to address the
problem in the workplace and local communities where they
operate.

    In introducing the conference, Howard Klee from WBCSD
remarked, "This conference on HIV/AIDS is an important
part of the WBCSD's larger program on health systems and the
role of business in society.  Business does have a role to
play in addressing a number of social issues, but business
alone cannot solve these problems.  In the case of
HIV/AIDS, the connections between this deadly disease and
having a productive workforce and vibrant local market are
quite clear.  Business has the ability to influence their
employees' behavior through education, as well as through
the design of benefit, insurance, safety and wellness
programs."

    On behalf of the United Nations Theme Group on HIV/AIDS
in China, Constance Thomas, Director of the International
Labour Organization for China and Mongolia, illustrated a
number of ways in which employers could contribute to
HIV/AIDS prevention and control in China. 

    "The workplace is an important and ideal setting
where reliable information on HIV/AIDS prevention can be
disseminated to the working people, especially to those who
may be engaging in behavior that puts them at risk of
becoming infected by HIV," Thomas said.

    "Increasingly, companies in China have taken
actions by putting HIV/AIDS workplace policy in place,
launching education programmes in their workplaces and
beyond.  Taking action on HIVAIDS can be considered part of
carrying out corporate social responsibility, which is
increasingly being seen in China as synonymous with good
business practice and harmonious growth."

    "This workshop is a testament to GBC's work and
progress in China," said Michael Shiu, Director of GBC
China. "Last March in Beijing at our Joint Summit with
the Chinese Ministry of Health, we witnessed Vice Premier
Wu Yi call on Chinese businesses to get involved in the
fight against HIV/AIDS.  In the past year GBC has attempted
to galvanize the business response to the Premier's call and
today's workshop is a critical step in that direction. By
helping participants design and execute a company HIV/AIDS
workplace policy, we are paving the way for future private
sector HIV/AIDS program development." 

    HIV/AIDS is not only a public health issue but also a
social and development issue as China already has over half
a million estimated HIV/AIDS cases according to the latest
estimation by the Ministry of Health, UNAIDS and WHO. 
Based on experience in other countries, it is now
recognized as best practice to make a proactive attack on
the epidemic in its early stages, rather than waiting until
a later stage when control becomes more difficult and
costly.   

    Giving an example of using the workplace to reach rural
migrant workers and local communities where the companies
are located, Edmund Settle, Programme Specialist on
HIV/AIDS for the United Nations Development Programme,
added, "There is an urgent need to strengthen the
general population's knowledge and understanding of
HIV/AIDS, and the private sector is in a perfect position
to facilitate efficient and sustained distribution of
HIV/AIDS education and awareness messages among employees
and their families."

    The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a
co-sponsor of UNAIDS and member of the Theme Group on
HIV/AIDS in China, works with the private sector to develop
partnerships, mobilize resources and use their individual
market advantage to become fully engaged with HIV/AIDS in
the workplace and support prevention and awareness
activities in communities.

    For more information, please contact:

     Howard Klee,
     Program Director for Sustainable Health Systems,
     World Business Council for Sustainable Development
     Email:  [e-mail]

     Edmund Settle,
     Programme Specialist on HIV/AIDS,
     United Nations Development Programme
     Tel:    [phone] ext.296
     Email:  [e-mail]

     Michael Shiu,
     Director, Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, China
office
     Email:  [e-mail]

SOURCE  United Nations Development Programme