Business and HIV/AIDS:

Economic Impact and

Business Rationale

Trevor Neilson
Executive Director,
Global Business Coalition on
HIV/AIDS
July 8, 2004
Bangkok, Thailand
 The Global AIDS Crisis
• The worst health crisis in all of
human history
• 30 million people have died
• 40 million are currently infected
• Infections are not slowing
• Next wave countries: Russia,
India, China
• Limited access to treatment
 Adults and Children
Living with HIV/AIDS at
the end of 2003 Eastern Europe
& Central Asia
Western Europe
North America
460 000 – 86 000 – 1.9
520 000 – 1.6 730 000 million
East Asia & Pacific
million North Africa & 450 000 – 1.5
Caribbean
Middle East South million
270 000 – 760 200 000 – 1.4 & South-East
000 million Asia
Sub-Saharan
Latin America Africa 4.1 – 9.6
Australia
million
1.2 – 2.1 23.1– 27.9 & New Zealand
million million 21 000 – 46
000

Total: 35 – 42 million
Source: UNAIDS, AIDS Epidemic Update 2004
New Infections in 2003: 5
million, over 13, 000 a
day
• More than 50% are women
• About 50% are in the age
bracket between 15-24 years
• Almost 2000 are in children
under the age of 15
• More than 95% are in low and
middle income countries
 High and Low Estimates of
Current and Future HIV/AIDS-
Infected Adults in Next-Wave
Countries, 2002 and 2010
Millions
25

20

15
High

10
Low

High
5
Low

0
2002 2010 2002 2010 2002 2010 2002 2010 2002 2010
Nigeria Ethiopia Russia India China
 AIDS Decimates
Economies
Growth Impact of HIV (1990-97) (80 developing countries)
0

-0.2
Reduction in growth rate GDP
per capita (%, per year)

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1

-1.2

-1.4

-1.6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

HIV Prevalence Rate (%)

Source: R. Bonnel (2000) Economic Analysis ofHIV/AIDS, ADF2000 Background paper, World Bank.
Slide adapted from UNAIDS: “Socio-Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa,” presented by Anita
Alban and Lorna Guiness, ADF 2000.
 Impact on Economic
Development
• Business
– Increased Cost, decreased revenue
– Decreased productivity, depleting skills and distorting labor market
• Markets
– Reduced Consumer spending
• Society
– Health consumes more of government budget, leaving less for social
investment
– Families spend down savings, reducing capital
– Tax revenues fall
– Skilled workers & professionals die or may flee: brain drain
– Foreign investment and tourism decline
– Mass orphaning
 Security Threats of
HIV/AIDS
Civil and international conflicts contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS:
• AIDS does not cause wars but it magnifies the impact of conflict
• AIDS destabilizes governments
• AIDS is increasing the risk profile for corporate and international
investment
• Some African armies have prevalence rates of 40-60%
 The Impact on
Businesses
• Employees in their most productive years are affected
• Increased cost for health care, burials, training and
recruitment of replacement employees
• Decreased revenues as a result of absenteeism due to
illness or attendance at funerals, as well as time spent
on training
• Labor turnover and loss of skilled workers can lead to
a less productive work force
 Increasing
Vulnerability
• Looking solely at direct costs underestimates the
full impact of HIV/AIDS
– In addition to measurable savings of $20K-200K for each
new infection prevented, DaimlerChrysler concluded
that prevention of a new infection averted a far greater
loss of human capital
• Small and medium enterprises
– Potentially more vulnerable than MNCs
– Capture majority of the population
– Limited resources and lack of awareness and access to
health services
– Will require massive mobilization and support

Source: South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS and Bureau

for Economic research, 2003.
What Can Business Do?
• The workplace is one of the best mechanisms to educate the
adult population and their communities about HIV
• Businesses can give resources or in-kind contributions and
use their products in innovative ways
• Workplace health systems can be important for expanding
access to treatment and prevention services
• Business people can play leadership roles in their
communities and urge governments to take action
• Businesses can provide management expertise to HIV/AIDS
organizations
Global Business Coalition
on HIV/AIDS
• Over 150 Member Companies
• Richard Holbrooke, President and CEO
• Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman
• Business AIDS Methodology
• Benefits of Membership
• Issue-based campaigns
 What do GBC
• Use their companies
products, people and do?
reputation to fight AIDS
• Adopt AIDS policies and prevent and
treat within their workforce
• Every companies approach is different
• Examples: Anglo American, Viacom,
MAC, Getty Images
 Care Prolongs Productive
Life
The widening gap between North and
South
Yearly Deaths as a Proportion of 1995 Values

2.5

AIDS deaths in Africa

2.0

1.5

1.0
AIDS deaths in Western Europe

0.5
HAART
0.0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Source: Adapted from WHO/UNAIDS Statistics, & HIV/AIDS Surveillance in

Europe, End- year report 2001, No. 66, CESES
 Business, AIDS and
Public Policy
Accelerating Access to Testing
• 6 million people need ARVs – only 400,000
have access to medicines
• To fulfill WHO 3 by 5 goal
 5,000 people need to be brought onto treatment
every day, which means
 500,000 people need to be tested every day
(assuming that 50,000 test positive and 10% of
those will need immediate access to treatment)
 Policy Shift on HIV/AIDS Testing
Overcoming AIDS – What
Must Happen
Business is only one small piece of the pie:

• In hard hit regions, national governments creating

effective programs for their country’s HIV response is
critically important
• In donor nations, mobilization of resources globally toward
HIV prevention testing and treatment must be sustained
• The general public must be educated about the need for
new resources
 “The impact of AIDS on business and
Economic prosperity cannot be ignored.
Our customers in many parts of the world
and our own staff are threatened by the
epidemic… the day to day operations of
business could be compromised, we have to
solve this problem.”

-- Mervyn Davies, Group Chief Executive,

Standard Chartered Bank