World Economic Forum Report Finds 'Business Not Yet Playing its Role in the Fight Against AIDS'
Business survey finds big gaps in business response to, and understanding about, HIV/AIDS.
Geneva, Switzerland,(PRWEB) Monday 1 December 2003 – Coinciding with World
AIDS Day, a new report from the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative
suggests that business is not yet playing a significant role in the fight
against HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS in 2003, another five million people have
been infected and another three million have died of AIDS-related diseases. The
Forum report, written in collaboration with Professor David Bloom of Harvard
University and UNAIDS*, suggests that while many firms are concerned about
current or future impacts of AIDS on their businesses and their communities, few
have implemented measures to counter the threat.
Of the nearly 8,000
businesses surveyed in 103 countries:
-47% felt that HIV will have some
impact on their business; this number is much lower in countries that to date
have not been hard-hit by HIV. There are important regional variances – in
Africa, 89% thought HIV would have some impact, but in the Middle East and North
Africa that figure dropped to 33%. Worldwide, 21% of surveyed firms feel that
HIV will have a severe impact on their business.
-Two-thirds indicated that
HIV was not currently inflicting significant impacts on their operating costs,
yet in heavily-affected regions, some businesses report serious negative impacts
on their productivity and absenteeism, recruitment and training expenses, death
and disability expenses, and even revenues.
-Similarly, nearly half of
respondents thought that HIV has or will not cause a serious impact on the
community, although respondents who expected a serious impact on their
communities thought that their firms would be equally affected.
-Business
leaders estimate lower HIV infection rates among their workforce than UNAIDS
(official national adult prevalence figures), although 36% of business leaders
did not or could not estimate how many of their employees had HIV. The small
proportion of firms that have conducted quantitative studies estimates lower
rates than other firms.
Kate Taylor, Director of the Global Health
Initiative at the World Economic Forum, says of the report, “The findings of the
survey are important as a first effort to quantify the business response to HIV.
However, the findings show that just as the efforts by most governments have
been insufficient, the overall private sector response to date is inadequate.
Despite the ground-breaking efforts undertaken by leading companies, a great
deal more needs to be done by the broader business community.”
Businesses’ response to the epidemic has so far been limited.
-Fewer
than 6% of responding companies had formally-approved written HIV policies, but
over a third nevertheless believe their current policies and programmes are
sufficient and effective.
-Of the companies who do have written policies,
one-quarter may still require disclosure of a current or prospective employee’s
HIV status and do not prohibit discrimination during recruitment. 22% do not
prohibit discrimination based on HIV status during promotion, pay or benefits
decisions (contrary to international standards set by the ILO).
-On the
whole, firms appear to be satisfied with their ability to deal with the problem,
with only 21% reporting that existing policies may be insufficient. However,
firms that believe HIV/AIDS will have a serious impact on their business are
more concerned, with 44% discontented with their existing
policies.
"There is no doubt that in recent years the business community
has started waking up to the enormous threat posed by the AIDS epidemic to its
workforces and markets," adds Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
"However, the Forum’s first ever survey of global business leaders' perceptions
shows the enormity of the task in front of us. AIDS is a menace to the economic
and social stability of the whole world – not only sub-Saharan Africa. This
survey highlights the urgent need for businesses in other parts of the world,
particularly in Asia, to take action now."
Report co-author David Bloom
said, “This survey is the first global survey of its kind and is a giant step
toward providing an evidence-based foundation for policy-making.”
“The
challenge is to use these findings positively – to renew our advocacy and
outreach to business leaders. The World Economic Forum’s Global Health
Initiative and other groups such as the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS
must break business leaders’ information and comprehension barriers. As long as
there is little understanding of the immediate and future business impact of
AIDS, far too few businesses will respond,” Dr Taylor adds.
For an
executive summary of the report please visit the Global Health Initiative’s
website at (http://www.weforum.org/globalhealth). The full report will be
available in Davos, at the Forum’s Annual Meeting 2004. For more information,
please contact Dr Kate Taylor at +41 (0)79 375 1032 or
Peter DeYoung +41
(0)79 477 8664.
* This report is funded, in part, through a grant by
UNAIDS.
-
The World Economic Forum is an independent international
organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a
collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues,
engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship. Incorporated
as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is
impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national
interests. The Forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations. (http://www.weforum.org).
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/12/prweb91866.htm