President Bill Clinton to Receive Leadership Award at Annual Awards for Business Excellence Gala

On June 13th, GBC will honor former US President Bill Clinton for his outstanding leadership on HIV/AIDS and global health at the 2007 Gala. The Awards for Business Excellence will highlight outstanding business action on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, encouraging best practices and outlining their models. Preceding the gala, GBC will host a Policy Workshop on the feminization of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa as well as Technical Sessions to maximize business engagement through the supply chain.

Playing Cards with AIDS, TB and Malaria Messages

On May 22nd GBC will launch its China Playing Card Initiative. Seven GBC member companies-Anglo American plc, Bayer, BD, Coca-Cola, GM, Eli Lilly & Co., and SSL International-are sponsoring the week-long distribution campaign targeting China's migrant worker population. Approximately 400,000 decks of cards will be distributed to ticket-holders at Beijing train stations before they embark on long journeys. Each of the deck's 54 cards is embossed with a different HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria message and the sponsoring GBC member company logo.

GBC and Member Companies Engage in Massive Public-Private Partnership to Tackle Malaria

GBC and its member companies, in partnership with two US Government agencies, are providing 500,000 anti-malarial bed nets for distribution throughout Zambia. GBC organized a generous group of private sector and individual donors to match a $1.25 million challenge grant. GBC members involved include: Abbott Laboratories, Anglo American plc, BD (Becton, Dickinson & Co.), Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, Johnson & Johnson, JN-International, Inc. USA, National Basketball Association (NBA), The Noel Group, Premier Medical Group, Qingdao Double Butterfly Group, Tata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Total and Vestergaard-Frandsen.

Spring Ahead: New Issue of Business Response Magazine

The middle of May sees the release of the seventh issue of GBC's magazine. Recently re-branded-Business Response: AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria-the magazine formerly known as Business & AIDS has a new name to reflect GBC's expanded mandate. Featuring a cover story on malaria, the 80-page Business Response also includes important feature articles on child marriage and disproportionate disease spread, Black America's AIDS epidemic, the media's role in accurate HIV coverage, male circumcision's ability to cut transmission rates, and an interview with First Lady Laura Bush. Also new to the publication: a removable insert profiling 18 of GBC's most recent members.

Member in Action: Eli Lilly and Company

On World TB Day 2006, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu declared that Eli Lilly and Company's MDR-TB Partnership is an "excellent example of coordinated action against the disease." It was in 2003 that Lilly launched the pioneering initiative to fight the rapidly growing threat of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) worldwide by supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat 800,000 patients annually by 2015.

CEO Interview: Virgin's Richard Branson

In an effort to disseminate best practices among its member companies, GBC has launched a new series in which Executive Director John Tedstrom interviews member company CEOs and leaders from our partner organizations. Next up is an interview with Sir Richard Branson, the brainchild behind Virgin, the entertainment, mobile telecommunications, and lifestyle leader. Sir Richard has been a key figure in the fight against HIV/AIDS since 1987 when he launched Mates Condoms to help build awareness, destigmatize condom use, and promote HIV prevention in the United Kingdom. Richard Branson's interview will be available mid-May.

GBC Members to Visit Russian Federation

In late October, GBC is hosting two special events in the Russian Federation. The first, a member field trip from October 22nd-25th, will take participants through St. Petersburg and Moscow, focusing on Russia's HIV/AIDS epidemic. The tour will culminate in the second event in Moscow, an October 25th Leader's Forum on Public-Private Partnerships; its audience is policymakers and business leaders from China, India, Russia, and other countries.

GBC Malaria Forum to Yield Key Policy Document

Hosted at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., the March 12th Private Sector Malaria Forum convened public and private sector leaders deeply committed to combating malaria, a disease that kills 3,000 children in Africa every day and affects between 300-500 million people. The forum was divided into four key panels-Community, Workplace, Core Competency, and Advocacy and Leadership-representing the key ways in which GBC advocates business engagement on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. GBC and member company Booz & Company will release a malaria roadmap report at the June 13th Gala.