FICCI in partnership with SHARE-VHS, USAID and NACO recently organised ‘HIV/AIDS Health Conclave’ under the South to South HIV/AIDS Resource Exchange Project, ‘Partnerships beyond Borders’ in New Delhi. This pivot conclave facilitated by SHARE-VHS and FICCI set the stage for productive deliberations with the industry and government stakeholders from India and the focus African countries, namely Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
Speaking at the conclave, Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, Senior Consultant, Independent Evaluation, Government of India, commended the private sector for its initiative in the prevention and treatment of AIDS in India and emphasised that the African community could follow India’s lead and successfully curb the spread of the disease.
On the occasion, a Knowledge Paper ‘Partnership beyond Borders – Catalysing Solution’ was released. FICCI in collaboration with Feedback Consulting has attempted to understand the market potential and assessment of the focus Africa countries through the report. The report emphasises that the market potential of products and services in the area of HIV in the three countries (South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania) would be over $ 50 billion in the next 10 years.
Vimal Wakhlu, Co-chair, SHARE-FICCI Project Advisory Board and Chairman and Managing Director, Telecommunication Consultants India, said that the goal of the project is to strengthen National HIV/AIDS response in India and select African countries by facilitating technical cooperation through a bi-directional transfer of high impact policies, practices and innovations in the five target African countries, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and Tanzania from May 2014 to April 2015. It is funded by USAID and managed by VHS -CHARTERED, Project Division of Voluntary Health Services, Chennai and FICCI is the co-ordinating partner.
The objectives of the programme are facilitating transfer and adoption of proven approaches in engaging private sector for HIV/health programs, assessing market potential for Indian HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment products, commodities and services in five African countries, assisting Indian companies to introduce proven HIV/AIDS products, commodities, and services in select African countries, using a business approach, assisting partnering country organisations to adopt and scale-up proven approaches to engage private sector and to introduce select Indian products and commodities and establishing systems for dissemination of new products, technologies, services and private sector partnership experiences, relating to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, between Indian and partnering business entities, associations etc.
John Beed, Mission Director, USAID India Mission, congratulated the Government of India on its success in HIV/AIDS and polio programmes and emphasised the importance of trilateral partnerships and partnerships with private sector for creating an AIDS-free generation.
Prof Jayanta K Das, Director, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, highlighted the actions that corporate sector can engage in service delivery such as HIV testing for PPTCT, access to ART, HIV &TB testing, STI clinics, care & support for PLHIV, support private blood banks, IEC & BCC in workplace and support good NGOs to develop targeted intervention sites for HRGs.
Oussama Tawil, Country Director, UNAIDS India, said, “In the context of shrinking financial resources, changing development priorities and the need to consider a phased integration of key HIV-related interventions on a large scale, the achievements on AIDS in India – anchored on prevention, but also closely followed by treatment, care and support – should not be diluted. To ensure, that nobody is left behind, in addition to conventional partners in the AIDS response including the communities, we need to engage the private sector.”
Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI; Sheila Sudhakaran, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI and Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Senior Director, FICCI, also shared their perspectives.
EP News Bureau-Mumbai