On World AIDS Day, the Health Action Alliance and ViiV Healthcare presented to the public “U.S. Business Action to End HIV,” a new alliance of companies committed to accelerating progress to eradicate the disease.

Lynn Baxter, senior vice president and Head of ViiV Healthcare North America, noted:

Through this coalition, ViiV Healthcare will combine its innovation and expertise as the only company solely focused on HIV with the leadership and energy of the other member companies to create a holistic approach to ending HIV.

These are the founding companies:

• Ada Health
• Avita
• BLK
• Chispa
• CVS Health
• Gilead Sciences
• Healthvana
• National LGBT Chamber of Commerce
• OraSure Technologies
• The Powell Companies Real
• Tinder
• Uber
• ViiV Healthcare
• Walgreens
• Walmart

About U.S. Business Action to End

This program was created as a response to the National Strategy against HIV/AIDS, which aims to mobilize all sectors of society in a common response.

Leveraging the influence and expertise of the private sector, the coalition has set a goal once thought impossible: Ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030.

Initiated by ViiV Healthcare and structured by the Health Action Alliance, the nation's largest network of private sector employers operating at the intersection of business and public health, this coalition includes more than 5,500 employers, including 225 Fortune 1000, who together employ more than 25 million workers in the United States.

“Time has proven that the existing federal initiatives alone will not be successful without the support and partnership of private industry and the community,” added Baxter.

We're proud to announce the founding members of U.S. Business Action to End HIV, a new coalition of businesses committed to accelerating progress to
end HIV in America by 2030. #WorldAIDSDay

Join us: https://t.co/jfSLx3dsLM pic.twitter.com/NpG0l40hyX

— Health Action Alliance (@healthaction) December 1, 2022

Battle against HIV

Using a particular focus on equitable access to prevention and treatment resources, private sector leaders and HIV activists identified opportunities to close gaps and accelerate progress in the battle against AIDS.

The participating companies have committed to take the following 6 measures:

1. Designate HIV as a corporate priority and call other industry leaders to action
2. Educate workers and combat HIV stigma in the workplace
3. Improve HIV coverage and policy measures against employee discrimination
4. Advocate for better HIV policy measures and system change
5. Leverage their abilities to implement innovative strategies in communities most affected by HIV
6. Contribute funds to improve the response of the coalition in favor of public health

The Health Action Alliance supports corporate partners by offering free communication materials, employer and worker resources, educational events, training and consulting, and technical support to build public-private partnerships in communities most affected by HIV.

“Ending HIV in the U.S. is within our reach — and our moonshot is to harness the private sector’s unique expertise, infrastructure and trusted relationships with employees to dramatically reduce new HIV infections, fight stigma and homophobia, and improve the lives of people with HIV,” stressed Stephen Massey, Managing Director of the Health Action Alliance and co-founder of Meteorite.