GBC Press Release

Washington, D.C. - June 24, 2009 – With the global recession threatening health initiatives worldwide, and private sector expertise needed more than ever before, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will honor eight standard-setting companies for their innovative programs that help fill the growing gaps in government and multilateral funding against deadly global diseases.

The companies to be honored are Standard Chartered Bank (LSE: STAN.L), Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO), Warner Bros. Entertainment (NYSE: TWX), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-B), Unilever (NYSE: UN, UL), Anglo American plc (NASDAQ: AAUK), Levi Strauss & Co. and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). The awards will be formally presented at the GBC Business Excellence Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C on June 24.

“While the Obama Administration and other nations and international institutions have done their best to provide support for global health measures, there are undeniable gaps that must be addressed,” said John Tedstrom, GBC’s President and CEO.  “The way to get the job done is for everyone to work together.  The fight against HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria cannot be won without the corporate sector stepping up and playing an active role—and these award winners are doing exactly the kind of thing that all companies can and should do.  They don’t just talk, they take action.  And their action saves lives.”

The business community has had a major impact on global health. Collectively these companies have helped bring prevention messages to hundreds of millions of people, contributed tens of millions of dollars to entities like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and tested and provided prevention outreach training to employees around the world.

In addition to the Business Excellence Awards, Congressman John Lewis will receive the GBC Inspiration Award for his leadership on HIV/AIDS and his advocacy on global health. The awards will be presented by Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO of BET, and Patricia Mugambi, Vice President, Regional Director, GBC East Africa. Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International and host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, will serve as anchor.

2009 GBC Awards for Business Excellence Winners

Community Investment: Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered Bank’s best practice Living with HIV program began as an internal workplace HIV education campaign before it was rolled out to local communities. The success of the Bank’s community investment is largely due to the varied partnerships—with business, foundations and academic institutions—that allowed the company to bring its workplace program to scale effectively.
Through collaboration with other organizations, the Bank aims to educate one million people about HIV/AIDS by 2010, using resources, models and tools—including an online e-learning module—that the company has developed during ten years of experience conducting HIV education for its employees.  The HIV education tools are available in 10 languages, and Living with HIV uses a volunteer network of “HIV Champions” who educate their peers about HIV—including components on reducing stigma and encouraging people to get tested for HIV.

Core Competence: Warner Bros. Entertainment

In partnership with the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Warner Bros. applied its core competence to develop an action-based videogame pilot that is delivering targeted HIV prevention messages to East African youths. The videogame combines traditional game play with messages aimed at changing behavior, focusing on five key behaviors that can reduce HIV infections among youth: Delaying the onset of sexual activity, abstinence, avoiding multiple sex partners, correct and consistent condom use, and uptake of voluntary counseling and testing services. The pilot game is called “Pamoja Mtaani,” which is Swahili for “Together in the Hood.”
The game development is part of The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation, a public-private collaboration among PEPFAR and businesses with critical core competencies such as messaging, new technologies and market research.

Partnership:  Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria (SPDC)

The Niger Delta AIDS Response (NiDAR)—SPDC’s partnership with the Government of Nigeria and Family Health International (FHI)—has helped build healthcare capacity for HIV and TB in rural communities around the company’s Nigerian operations.  The partnership has so far led to 1,165 people (and 86 pregnant women) learning they were HIV positive and allowed more than 590 people to begin antiretroviral treatment, of which 49 were also placed on anti-TB  treatment. In addition, a total of 234 government healthcare workers at NiDAR facilities were trained with a diverse set of new skills.
SPDC was an active partner throughout the development and implementation of the project, contributing US$1.5 million toward FHI as well as in-kind services, such as logistics, security and transportation support, and SPDC medical staff supervision.

Performance Measurement: Marathon Oil Corporation

The extraordinary results to date of the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP)—an integrated malaria control program implemented in partnership with Marathon, its business partners and the Government of Equatorial Guinea—are directly related to its robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan. The plan uses a proven methodology to assess progress, detect and address shortcomings, and evaluate the capacity of the island’s healthcare personnel and facilities. From the very first comprehensive baseline entomological and health assessments to current performance measurement, BIMCP had a framework in place with the right indicators—ranging from biting behavior, insecticide resistance and malaria-related case fatality rate to the percentage of laboratories with Quality Assurance protocols.

The M&E plan helped to identify emerging constraints and make necessary course corrections. It also highlighted BIMCP’s successes, which include a 64 percent reduction in the risk of death for children under the age of five on Bioko Island.

Supply Chain Engagement: Unilever

Unilever leveraged the power of collaboration to bring its best practice workplace program to more than 500,000 people through more than 50 tea growers in the region. In partnership with both the company’s own supply chain and local tea growers, Unilever took its comprehensive model—including voluntary counseling and testing, public education and engagement, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and the provision of antiretroviral treatment (ARV)—to the surrounding community. The dramatic scale and reach of the initiative is made possible through collaboration with the Kenya Tea Growers Association and dozens of small-scale farmers that directly supply tea to Unilever.

Workplace: Anglo Coal South Africa

Anglo Coal’s best practice HIV/AIDS workplace program educates, engages and safeguards its employees through innovative approaches and a positive outlook—the company not only protects employees’ health, but also gives them hope.  The program follows a five pillar approach, focusing on voluntary counseling and testing; awareness, education and prevention; care, support and treatment; partnerships; and commitment to One Anglo’s six values. The company has taken major steps in guaranteeing confidentiality and creating awareness about its HIV non-discrimination policy—both of which reduce stigma and encourage testing.

The results are clear—94 percent of Anglo Coal’s workforce has been tested for HIV and 86 percent were tested in 2008 alone (clock set back to zero annually). Anglo Coal’s 253 wellness peer educators not only educate their co-workers about HIV, but also reach out into the community with home-based care.

The Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Business Leadership: Chevron Corporation

Chevron has long been a leader in the fight for global health. That position was cemented in 2008, when the energy giant became The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s first-ever Corporate Champion—committing $30 million over three years to Global Fund activities to help control and eradicate these diseases in select countries in Asia and Africa. Its healthcare work spans the globe, with many of the company’s approximately 120 physicians and 600 healthcare professionals supporting comprehensive HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria policies and programs that are both innovative and impactful. Chevron is one of the first companies to distribute bed nets to employees in malaria affected regions, and in 2007 and 2008 the company distributed more than 230,000 condoms to employees and communities in areas with high rates of HIV/AIDS.

The Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Business Leadership: Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. has been actively involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. As early as 1982, Levi Strauss’ employees and executives started a grassroots educational effort that would quickly evolve into the first major corporate HIV/AIDS prevention initiative.
Today, Levi Strauss is extending comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment and care—including access to antiretroviral medication, counseling, preventive care, and education—to all Levi Strauss employees and their families worldwide. Through a Clinton Global Initiative commitment made in 2006, Levi Strauss is the first apparel company to provide such a global comprehensive program. Consistently on the cutting edge of trends in business action, in 1991 Levi Strauss became the first multinational apparel company to establish a comprehensive ethical code of conduct for suppliers. The guidelines emphasize human rights, non-discrimination, health and safety for factory workers.

In addition, GBC commended the following companies for their outstanding work against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria:

Community Investment

• Vestergaard Frandsen SA
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)

Core Competence

• MTV Networks
• Ogilvy & Mather Companies

Partnership

• Astra Zeneca

Performance Measurement

• Lafarge South Africa

Supply Chain

• ALAFA
• Nile Breweries (SABMiller)

Workplace

• Hippo Valley Estates Ltd
• Sher Karuturi Ltd

Originally published June 24, 2009