Fighting the epidemic of HIV/AIDS requires involvement of many key sectors of society, including partnerships with the private and public sectors, civil society and individual consumers.
The first session on Private Sector Leadership commemorating World AIDS Day 2007 at the World Bank, Washington DC, was organized by the South Asia Finance and Private Sector (SASPF) unit, the South Asia Region (SAR) AIDS team and IFC Against AIDS. It focused on the role of private sector partners in implementing innovative approaches to effectively combat HIV/AIDS. Phillip Hay, Communications Advisor at the World Bank, served as moderator for the event, while Jyrki Koskelo, VP, IFC and Praful Patel, VP, World Bank, co-hosted the event.
Juan Jose Daboub, Managing Director at the World Bank, welcomed participants and gave a brief introductory presentation. Daboub noted that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the main threats to global development. Despite the remarkable progress that has been made in the past year, he said, there must be continued investment in prevention and treatment. This cannot be done effectively by one single institution or player. To achieve results, the Bank and other development partners, governments, civil society, and the private sector must join forces to find a comprehensive and sustainable response to the epidemic. Daboub said that success in the fight against AIDS depends on strong leadership, both at the country and private sector level, as well as a strong sense of commitment and ownership of the development agenda. Daboub stressed the need to draw on the expertise of the private sector, with a focus on public/private partnerships.
Jyrki Koskelo, Vice President, Africa, Global Financial Markets and Funds at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), introduced the role of the IFC and the World Bank in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Koskelo stated that the role of the private sector in this fight has thus far been underestimated, and yet it is one of the sectors that can contribute to produce significant results in tackling the epidemic-- if the opportunities are properly explored. He mentioned that the IFC currently has 25 projects dealing with HIV/AIDS in 10 different countries, and that while the IFC is not a beginner in this effort, they are still gaining experience in this field. Koskelo highlighted that partnerships are extremely critical for success, and while the IFC had to initially cover most of the costs of their private sector partnerships, today partners pay 75 percent of the cost. This is because private sector players have realized that investment in prevention actually produces good returns; and the prospects of increasing private sector involvement are very positive. Koskelo concluded that he believes that IFC is on the right track and will continue to look for new ideas in combating this pressing issue.
Tamsin Smith, President of Product (RED) provided a brief history of the Product (RED) initiative. She showed a film clip which explained how the brand Product (RED), licensed to partner companies such as Nike, Apple, Motorola, Converse, Gap, and American Express, raises money for the Global Fund to fight AIDS. Consumers have the choice of buying (RED) products among the regular products the companies offer, and a portion of the sales is donated to the Fund. The (RED) initiative has recently reached the 50 million dollar mark in less than two years. Smith explained that the model is based on the assumption that people want to help the HIV/AIDS cause, but they don’t know how to do it or how their actions will make a difference. Smith explained that Product (RED) directly approached the leadership of companies—the Chief Executive Officers and marketing executives— and asked them to use a portion of their marketing budget for the Product (RED) initiative. Consumers do not pay more for (RED) products than for other similar products, which helps to produce a sustainable model that will continue to raise money for the fight against HIV/AIDS, Smith said.
Sai Paranjpye, filmmaker in India, explained that in India a major issue in the fight against the HIV epidemic is the lack of awareness of the subject, even amongst educated people: a recent study indicated that 40% of college students in Mumbai believed that HIV/AIDS was contracted by kissing, and another 45% attributed it to mosquitoes. Paranjpye pointed out the huge influence that a feature film treating the subject of HIV/AIDS could potentially have in educating people and raising awareness for the entire country. India, she said, urgently needs a contemporary film that treats AIDS not only as a medical issue, but as a human rights issue. And while the urgent need to launch an aggressive film movement on HIV/AIDS is not being disputed, Paranjpye explained the many challenges of finding funding for such an initiative. She noted the lack of interest among Indian film industry in funding a film grounded in realities, since it focuses its productions more on “dreams than realities,” the kind of movies for which Bollywood has become famous. However, Paranjpye explained the potential of the private sector, which in India has a long history of social responsibility, to commit to the issue of HIV prevention and care. Such a partnership with the private sector can go to great lengths to educate the population, and still be financially successful. She concluded by showing a clip (titled “Gulabi”) that she recently shot for her proposed feature film on the subject of HIV/AIDS.
Michael Cover, Senior Vice President of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide was the last presenter. Cover stressed the importance of communication as a tool for fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic globally. Ogilvy, he said, is a Global PR company with offices in 6 continents. In Washington, the company specializes in Social Marketing, which draws greatly on commercial marketing and the emphasis on product, price, place and promotion. Cover explained that in social marketing, the “product” might not be a consumer good, but an HIV test or a breast exam. And the “price” is not the cost, but the time and effort. The “place” is how people get their information, whether that is from a doctor’s office or the television. And finally, “promotion” is about the long term sustainability of the message. Cover explained the different HIV/AIDS social marketing initiatives Ogilvy has been involved in, from an early campaign in 1987, to the current Heroes project in India, and he also mentioned a recent partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation and Viacom. Cover stated that private-public partnerships are necessary in the case of complex health problems that demand a multi-faceted approach, especially in poor nations where resources must be maximized. The case of HIV/AIDS has demonstrated the key value of these partnerships, he said. Cover concluded by stating that the World Bank has a role to play in its work with private sector partners by helping to identify opportunities for private/public partnerships and facilitating them.
In the question and answer session, audience members asked about the existent political denial of the epidemic in many countries, whether there are efforts to reform the workplace standards of companies involved in Product (RED), and the role of the World Bank in interfacing with the private sector.
Praful Patel, Vice President of the South Asia Region at the World Bank, gave concluding remarks. Patel summarized the key messages from each of the presentations and shared his experience of working with HIV/AIDS at the Bank. He stressed that the private sector has a lot to offer, and that the World Bank must now face the challenge of assuming the mantle of leadership in facilitating the much needed private/public partnerships.
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