Over the past 25 years, nearly 25 million people have died from AIDS.1 HIV/AIDS causes debilitating illness and premature death in people during their prime years of life, devastates families and communities and seriously impacts local, regional and national economies. HIV/AIDS directly affects businesses through increased costs and loss of productivity, and when the financial health of businesses are compromised, so are the economies in which they operate. HIV/AIDS impacts businesses and economies by:2
Companies operating globally have made significant headway in their response to HIV/AIDS by developing comprehensive approaches that link their strategies to the communities where they operate. Leveraging their existing infrastructure and in-country relationships, businesses operating in countries most affected by HIV/AIDS can provide mechanisms for service delivery and can influence outcomes in the communities where they function by providing comprehensive non-discrimination, prevention, testing, and treatment programs to workers and members of the broader community.3 When businesses make it their business to respond to HIV, all aspects of the larger community benefit.
