Africa: CCA Announces Gates Foundation Grant to Combat AIDS in Africa

21 August 2003
Corporate Council on Africa (Washington, DC)
press release

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) announced today an $875,000 grant awarded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen U.S. corporate involvement in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Africa. The grant will provide funding for a new CCA initiative to work with corporations, helping them to institutionalize the most effective HIV/AIDS business plans and policies.

While Africa is home to only 10% of the world's population, 70% of the adults and 80% of the children living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are in Africa. The private sector has recognized the pandemic's implications on the global economy and has become more aggressively involved in the fight. Through the Gates Foundation grant, CCA will work with the private sector to maximize the efforts of businesses working in Africa.

CCA President Stephen Hayes spoke to the urgency of the project. The U.S. corporations involved in Africa must play an integral role in our fight against HIV/AIDS. At an economic level, as the rate of infection increases, absenteeism in the workplace and lack of production also rise. CCA is pleased to work with its members to set a precedent for every U.S. business involved in Africa to implement effective business plans relating to HIV/AIDS. It is through such a combined effort that we can be effective in breaking the disease's destructive course.

Over the grant's three-year duration, the Corporate Council on Africa, whose members represent approximately 85% of U.S. private sector investment in Africa, will work with each of its members to establish effective HIV/AIDS policies in the workplace. On the continent, member companies will be involved in developing national HIV/AIDS plans and will work with African national commissions on HIV/AIDS. CCA will also work to increase corporate financial support to combat the disease. CCA will form a national advisory council of businesses to work with the organization as it develops its plans.

CCA, established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of over 165 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. CCA's website is www.africacncl.org.

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