AIDS “Indian corporates do lot of talk and no action.” Feachem

[Guest guest]

Armani to unveil 'Red' for AIDS

Ishara Bhasi

Thursday, June 15, 2006 00:40 IST

LONDON: This autumn at the London Fashion Week, Giorgio Armani will unveil his

'Red' fashion range, which will comprise red case covers for fashionable

sunglasses and 50 per cent of the profits from the sale of Armani's Red range

will go towards UN's war chest for the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Speaking about the Red range at a Commonwealth Business Council symposium,

Feachem, Executive Director Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis &

Malaria, tried on the stylish sunglasses and spoke about the contribution that

big brands like Gap, American Express and Motorola are making towards the Global

Fund.

" Until recently the contribution by private sector was less than 0.1 per cent "

but, he said with the Red campaign they are now committing to a long-term

investment into the UN fund. While Armani is to unveil the red range in London,

Motorola, which has already launched red phones for the UN campaign, is planning

to go a step further and try to get its phones produced in Nigeria. The

contribution from the private sector is no where near the kind of contribution

that it can and should make towards fighting the disease.

Calling AIDS the " largest recorded disaster in human history " Feachem said, " 65

million people already infected, 25 million dead and 5 million infected every

year. Growing areas on uncontrollable HIV/AIDS are in both China and India. " He

was particularly concerned about India. He urged the gathered corporate

delegates to play more active role in tackling this disaster. He pointed out

that it was their problem too as the deaths and destruction affects their bottom

line. " People are their resources. Businesses should create awareness and

introduce means for prevention, testing and treatment. "

Warning against the increase in AIDS cases in India, China and Russia, he said,

" Indian corporates do lot of talk and no action. " Most corporates do not address

the issue and have taken no steps to do anything about it. The Global Fund used

to tackle AIDS, TB & malaria currently has $ 9 billion supporting 386

programmes. Of this only about 0.1 per cent comes from the private sector.

___________________

Jagdish Harsh

email: jharsh@...

url: www.hiv.org.in