Media Inquiries Please Contact:
David Stearns Media Relations Manager Phone: 212.584.1633 Cell: 646.361.8058 » E-Mail

GBC Strikes Landmark Agreement with Ukrainian Prime Minister

- Response to AIDS/TB epidemic elevated to national priority status -

The AIDS/TB epidemic in Ukraine has been elevated to national priority status thanks to an agreement that GBC President & CEO Richard Holbrooke and Executive Director John Tedstrom have secured with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.

Prime Minister Yanukovich promised to appoint a national "Czar" for AIDS and TB to work exclusively on these issues, and ordered his deputy prime minister to engage on this "top priority" matter.

The Prime Minister also pledged to increase Ukraine's commitment to providing substitution treatment for injecting drug users in the context of HIV prevention and treatment. Recent problems facing the country's methadone plan have jeopardized its Global Fund program.

The agreements followed a stakeholder meeting organized by Elena Franchuk Anti-AIDS Foundation in close cooperation with GBC and EastOne LLC. The meeting brought senior business leaders to discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS and TB on business, and the importance of a concerted and strategic private sector response.

At the meeting, GBC announced that steel holding company Industrial Union of Donbass has become its newest Ukrainian member, joining top firms such as EastOne and XXI Century Investments.

Top Government, Business Leaders in Moscow October 25 in Action Against AIDS & TB

Russia, China and India’s emergence as economic powerhouses are facing a huge threat that could undo the momentum – rampant AIDS and TB epidemics – and an extraordinary gathering of key stakeholders in Moscow on October 25 – the Leaders Forum on Public-Private Partnership’s in Emerging Economies – will mark one of the first big steps in the global response.
   » Read the Press Release
   » AP Story: Russia Told it is Losing AIDS Battle
   » World's Leading Companies Fear AIDS Will Start Guiding Economy
   » Russian and Ukranian Newspaper Coverage of Leaders Forum (PDF)

Stigma in Russia Thwarts Progress Against Fast Spreading AIDS Epidemic, says GBC Executive Director Dr. John Tedstrom
» Listen to Audio (mp3)

Resources:

Private Sector to Examine Russia’s AIDS/TB Epidemics

Senior representatives from some of the world’s biggest companies also will travel to sites in St. Petersburg and Moscow to visit hospitals and AIDS/TB prevention programs, participate in a simulation workshop led by Booz & Company, attend high-level meetings with public health policymakers and discuss partnership opportunities and models for implementing effective public-private partnerships to address these growing societal and economic threats.

Resources:

Fact-Finding Tour

Expert Survey Stresses Critical Role of Public-Private Partnerships

According to a new survey of 50 experts, the future economic and social vitality of Russia, China and India – three of the world’s most important emerging economies – is contingent on developing increased capacity to prevent a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic and stem the spread of TB, including increased access to prevention and treatment services.

Since the onset of the epidemic, regional efforts to fight HIV have faced significant systemic obstacles, including:

The destabilizing impact of economic reforms
The weakening of traditional values and social norms
A general absence of governmental leadership and political will

All of these, however, are ultimately exacerbated by the greatest obstacle of all: a lack of cooperation between countries, corporations, NGOs, and different strata of the society.

Collaborative Effort Key to Awareness, Prevention, Testing and Treatment of AIDS and TB in Russia, China and India

The development of effective and results-oriented PPPs will signal that the region is poised to make real progress in the effort to control and defeat these epidemics.

Putin’s Call for Alliances Cause for Hope
GBC Executive Director Dr. John Tedstrom discusses Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent endorsement of Public-Private Partnerships – and why it just might be the key to breaking the logjam on AIDS and TB that experts say could turn into catastrophe in Russia
» Listen to Audio (mp3)

Action Not Words: Business’ Results-Oriented Approach Can Turn Tide Against AIDS
Business is uniquely positioned to achieve results and get things done. Dr. John Tedstrom discusses how the private sector’s unique skills, core capacities and ability to reach an audience of millions of employees offers tremendous potential for controlling – and one day ending – the epidemics.
» Listen to Audio (mp3)