In the 25 years since it was first reported, AIDS has become the leading cause of premature death in sub-Saharan Africa and the fourth largest killer worldwide. More than 20 million people have died around the world since the epidemic began. And by the end of 2004 an estimated 39 million people were living with HIV. In addition to the incalculable human suffering that HIV/AIDS has wrought, the epidemic has reversed decades of development progress in the worst affected countries. Almost no country has escaped its wrath. But there are countries which are fighting back – and winning. Thailand and Uganda have shown that infection rates can be reversed with vision and leadership. They provide an example to other countries caught in the grip of AIDS.

Though they are not making headlines, other diseases are quietly stealing the vitality and hope of people in the developing world. Malaria claims the lives of a million people a year, mostly young children, and it is estimated to have slowed economic growth in African countries by 1.3% per year. Tuberculosis, once thought defeated, is making a comeback, helped by the emergence of drug resistant strains and the vulnerabilities created by HIV and AIDS. Not surprisingly, all three of these diseases are concentrated in the poorest countries. And they can be largely controlled through education, prevention and, when illness strikes, treatment and care.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

This event proposes to focus on MDG 6: ‘Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases:

Target 7. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

Target 8. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

The business case

Providing access to affordable essential drugs is an issue that has critical implications for major pharmaceutical companies and for businesses working in developing countries.

HIV/AIDS in the workplace programs are becoming increasingly important as public health budgets continue to shrink. Mining companies such as Anglo-American and Rio Tinto, which operate in countries with the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS, have been leaders in workplace programs.

There is significant quantitative and qualitative data to suggest that companies working to address HIV/AIDS in the workplace experience a variety of direct and indirect bottom-line benefits. Some of these include unhampered growth in markets; increased productivity; decreased costs of healthcare and other employee benefits; reduced employer liability; continued workforce diversity; lower rate of employee turnover and improved employee morale.

At the same time, major pharmaceutical companies are coming under significant pressure, particularly from campaigning organisations, to make their patent-protected medicines more widely available. Patent protection offers a necessary guarantee that companies will receive a return on their significant R&D investments. The challenge for these companies is to play a full role in helping to improve access to their medicines while remaining profitable, a role which varies enormously according to one’s stake in the issue.

The event

Objectives: