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Business has become a major player in the battle against HIV/AIDS in South Africa, which kills more than 900 people a day, The Economist magazine reported.
Delegates at the nation's first-ever Private-Sector Conference on HIV/AIDS learned that companies are now providing antiretroviral treatment to between 40,000 and 60,000 people, at a cost of about US $800 per person a year, bringing private-sector spending to around $40 million annually.
Leading companies, including Anglo American, De Beers, Standard Bank and Unilever, are setting an example for dozens of large and medium-sized businesses as well as government to follow by becoming more involved in the fight against the pandemic.
The conference, which sought to generate an even greater response from the private sector, was attended by 220 representtativees of medium and large businesses, international donors and government.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions