[Ip-health] Coke announcement

[katie@CritPath.Org]

UNAIDS SIGNS UP COCA-COLA IN BATTLE AGAINST AIDS

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation will co-ordinate
local support for AIDS programmes across the continent 

Geneva, 20 June 2001 - UNAIDS today announced a
partnership with The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation to
bring new impetus to the battle against AIDS.  Under the
terms of the three-year agreement, the Foundation will
co-ordinate the efforts of Coca-Cola Africa and its
bottling partners across the continent to support AIDS
education, prevention and treatment programmes. This
partnership is fully in line with the philosophy behind the
International Partnership against AIDS in Africa.

"The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation brings substantial
resources to the international battle against AIDS," said
Peter Piot, Executive Director, Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS. "Coca-Cola Africa's special
strength is its ability to bring its unrivalled marketing and
logistics expertise to responses to the epidemic - from
the community to the highest political level. We are
excited about this partnership and what it means for the
fight against AIDS."

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) brings together seven United Nations system
organizations (UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNDCP,
UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank) to help the world
prevent new HIV infections, care for those already
infected and mitigate the epidemic's impact.

The new partnership between Coca-Cola and UNAIDS is
the first major initiative for The Coca-Cola Africa
Foundation, a private, non-profit organization dedicated
to implementing the 

Coca-Cola system's philanthropic and corporate
citizenship programs in Africa.

"We are proud to be joining the UNAIDS team in the fight
against AIDS," said Alexander B. Cummings, President
of Coca-Cola Africa Group.  "Coca-Cola is completely
committed to the future of the African continent, its
economy, people, communities and health.  We will do all
that we can to enable Africans to reach their full
potential."     

"Two weeks ago, The Coca Cola Company hosted a
meeting of corporate leaders at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, which featured UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan," said Carl Ware, Executive Vice President, Global
Public Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company. "His urgent call
to action for private industry to step up its efforts to fight
HIV/AIDS inspired our Company and our Africa Group to
accelerate our plans to announce this strategic
partnership. The initiatives we have outlined today will
serve as the guidepost for specific programmes that will
be introduced throughout the continent in the coming
months."

The collaboration between Coca-Cola and UNAIDS will
build on existing models of public/private partnerships to
strengthen private sector involvement in tackling global
issues such as AIDS.  The partnership will focus on
Africa, where 70% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the
world reside.

The three pillars of the partnership are as follows: 

Local Community Infrastructure

The Coca-Cola system in Africa will deploy its unique
infrastructure and presence in local communities to
support local prevention, education and treatment
programs.

For example, company and bottler representatives in
Zambia will provide assistance to the Family Health
Trust, an education project that works with young people
in more than 2,500 anti-AIDS clubs throughout the
country.  The Coca-Cola system in Zambia will store
education materials at its facilities in Lusaka and then
assist in their distribution to 72 district education officers
country-wide.

In Nigeria, Coca-Cola will support the work of the
National HIV Sero-Prevalence Sentinel Surveillance
Survey for women attending antenatal clinics.  The
purpose of this program is to track HIV infection levels
through institutions that provide access to populations
that are of particular interest in combating the epidemic. 
The Coca-Cola system in Nigeria will provide marketing
support to develop awareness materials on the sentinel
sero-surveillance program, assist in the printing and
distribution of 10,000 pamphlets, provide expertise in
logistics and help distribute testing kits in all of the
Nigerian states.

Marketing Resources

Coca-Cola Africa will provide marketing expertise to
develop public awareness and information campaigns for
UNAIDS and international and local partners across
Africa.  These messages will seek to foster values of
caring, open communication around sexuality, and
support for the inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS in
community life.

Human Resources Policies

The Coca-Cola system, as the largest private sector
employer in Africa, will develop and implement model
human resources policies and practices for its
employees, consistent with local laws.

Coca-Cola Africa has already introduced 'minimum
standards' for its regional offices across the continent.
These policies require the formation of local AIDS
Committees, including representatives from
management, human resources, labour organizations and
medical personnel.  These committees will develop
workforce education and awareness programs and
conduct monthly prevention campaigns.

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