Group of Private Sector Leaders Will Promote and Help Fund Global Plan to End Pediatric AIDS
January 27, 2012 - Washington, D.C. - The Elizabeth Glaser
Pediatric AIDS Foundation today welcomed the introduction of a new organization dedicated to the shared goal of ending mother-to-child
transmission of HIV.
The Business Leadership Council for a Generation Born Free of HIV was
launched today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and declared its commitment to the mission of eliminating pediatric AIDS
globally.
The Business Leadership Council is comprised of representatives from diverse industries and countries who have formed
to promote and help fund "The Global Plan Towards the Elimination of New HIV
Infections Among Children by 2015 and Keeping Their Mothers Alive." The global plan was launched at the 2011 United
Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS, and led by UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and U.S. Global AIDS
Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby.
As one of the largest global providers of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), the
Foundation was among several organizations on the Global Task Team that developed the plan, and that now serves on the Global
Steering Group to guide its implementation.
The Foundation has also introduced a complementary initiative to help fuel the success of the global plan, called "A Mother's Fight" (www.amothersfight.org).
"The launch of the Business Leadership Council is a watershed moment in our mission to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV," said
Charles Lyons, President and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. "This diverse group of private sector leaders
will not only build global awareness that we can win this fight, but also help marshal the monetary muscle and business expertise
needed to make an AIDS-free generation a reality."
Since the introduction of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ten years ago, and the subsequent launch of
the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), public-private partnerships have been a crucial part of sustaining
the global AIDS response. Companies such as Johnson & Johnson, ViiV Healthcare, Disney, Chevron, Coca-Cola, and MAC Cosmetics
have helped lead the way in supporting scale-up of HIV prevention and treatment services in the regions of the world hardest
hit by the AIDS pandemic.
Today, members of the new Business Leadership Council - including Apax Partners, Apria Healthcare Group, Jetro,
McKinsey & Company, NBCUniversal, and WPP - have also joined the fight. Over the next 48 months, the Foundation is
committed to working with the Business Leadership Council and other partners to keep mothers living with HIV healthy,
and to reduce the number of new HIV infections in children to zero. Visit www.amothersfight.org to learn more.
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About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Foundation is a global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV and AIDS, and has reached 13.6 million women with services
to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. It currently works at more than 5,900 sites in 16 countries to implement
prevention, care, and treatment services; to further advance innovative research; and to execute strategic and targeted
global advocacy activities in order to bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families
worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org .
Contact: Robert Yule
Senior Media Relations Manager
(202) 448-8456
ryule@pedaids.org
"Reproduced with permission - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation "
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
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