Egypt's Private Sector Joins the Campaign Against HIV/AIDS

Workshop on Private Sector Partnership for HIV/AIDS National Response in Egypt, January 29, 2006

Cairo, February 2, 2006: Private sector companies in Egypt have committed their support to the global partnership against HIV/AIDS, in the knowledge that to do otherwise could bring financial and other consequences.

Steps needed to move the partnership forward were discussed at a workshop in Cairo attended by representatives of some of Egypt's top enterprises. The one-day event was organized by the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) in coordination with UNICEF, UNAIDS, the International Labour Organisation, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Care International.

"There's no escaping the fact that HIV/AIDS is a business issue", said Ghada Abdel Hamid of Coca Cola, one of six firms making up a core group of businesses committed to tackling HIV/AIDS which -- while still of low prevalence in Egypt -- has taken the lives of 25 million people globally since 1981.

Loss of skills, diminished markets, reduced productivity, escalating costs and lower staff morale are among the direct effects AIDS can have on a business. To counter it, companies are being urged to take a number of measures.

They include raising awareness among staff and implementing a code of practice in the workplace that would guarantee the rights of workers living with HIV/AIDS, and reduce the stigma and discrimination they are exposed to.

"In the global struggle to combat AIDS, everyone has a role to play": UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mahmoud Kabil

Dr.Ihab Salah of the MOHP's National AIDS Programme told the gathering that while the reported number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Egypt was very low, there was "a big debate" about the real number. He acknowledged that the presence of injecting drug users, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and a large population of street children constituted a "good medium for transmission" of the virus, particularly as the general population remained in ignorance and denial about basic prevention methods.

UNICEF Regional Goodwill Ambassador Mahmoud Kabil said that in the global struggle to combat AIDS, everyone had a role to play.

"In a world where globalization is a fact of life, businesses of every kind are helping deal with a complex and evolving set of global development challenges – and AIDS should be no exception," said Kabil.

The companies already committed to tackling AIDS are: the American Chamber of Commerce, Coca Cola, Bristol Myers Squibb, Shell, Trane and Cadbury. The group is supported by UN agencies, the National AIDS Programme and CARE with the aim of moving the initiative forward and advocating with other businesses on the issue.

For further information please contact:

Simon Ingram, UNICEF, Communication Officer / Cairo
singram@unicef.org
Tel: (202) 5265083 thru 87 Ext 210 / 208

Fax: (202) 526-4218