Living with that other pandemic

I treated my first patients with HIV nearly 25 years ago, when new infections were at their peak. Little did we know nearly 38.4 million people would still be living with it nearly a generation later. I know that some of my colleagues at Accenture are affected — as are people at your company.

These days, HIV is what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls “a manageable chronic health condition.” With treatment, my colleagues, your colleagues, and the millions of other HIV-positive people can live long, healthy lives. But they can never forget about it. HIV requires daily treatment. And, too often, it is accompanied by stigma and mental health difficulties.

My company, or yours, might not be able to help all 38.4 million. But we can help our HIV-positive colleagues to thrive by creating supportive and inclusive workspaces.

What it means to treat HIV

HIV attacks the body’s immune system, leaving us unable to defend ourselves against all sorts of diseases. Antiretroviral drugs keep HIV from replicating in the body so the immune system can repair itself and go back to work protecting us. At the WHO’s recommendation, 189 countries now provide all HIV-positive people with lifelong antiretroviral therapy. In 2021, this treatment reached 75% of those who needed it. People diagnosed with HIV in those countries immediately begin having regular blood tests to monitor the progress of the virus. And begin a daily regimen of antiretroviral drugs.

HIV quickly adapts to resist the drugs used against it, though. So it takes a combination of drugs to fight it — often a different combination for each patient. The UK’s National Health Service says people just diagnosed might take one to four pills a day. (The one-a-day formula might be easier to remember, but it is more expensive, so unaffordable to many.) Most people can expect the amount of the HIV virus in their blood — their viral load — to drop to undetectable levels within six months of starting treatment. Then, to keep the virus under control, treatment can never stop.

But today, global issues like COVID-19, the Ukraine war and inflation have disrupted HIV diagnosis and treatment in countries all over the world — enough that UNAIDS says we’re missing the HIV/AIDS targets our countries agreed to.

What businesses can do – for our people

There is no higher priority for our business than the health and well-being of our people. I suspect it’s the same for your company. As with COVID-19 the past few years, so it is with that other pandemic: education, diagnosis and treatment of HIV are the key. By supporting each of those interventions for our employees, businesses can protect not only our own people, but their families and the communities they live in. Here are some ideas:

For global businesses, education tactics can vary depending on the infection rate and customs of each country you do business in. At Accenture, for example, we educate our people about HIV on our global intranet, and we use office signage and email in some of our offices. The Accenture Wellness Centers in our Philippines offices even provide physician education sessions about HIV.

Global businesses also play an important role in prevention and treatment. In the U.S., for example, where health insurance is private, we make pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) freely available to everyone who needs it. PrEP is so effective in preventing transmission of the virus, it allows our people to stay healthy if their partner(s) are HIV-positive — a great example of an action that is both good for our people and good for our business.

HIV/AIDS is unique in the stigma often attached to it — requiring its own intervention. At my company, I’m proud to say our antidiscrimination policies and training are incredibly robust. So, in our case, HIV/AIDS discrimination falls under the “physical disability” protection in our Global Code of Conduct.

Organizations can also join the Human Rights Campaign’s #workingpositively campaign, like we have. By signing on to #workingpositively, businesses commit to “creating safe, supportive and inclusive spaces for people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses.” This lets HIV-positive employees know their organization has their back, and it lets potential employees know how supportive your business will be for them if they come to work for you.

What businesses can do – for our communities

There are many ways our businesses can extend their impact even further. Depending on what your company does, there are many HIV/AIDS-related nonprofits that can use your particular area of expertise. For example, Accenture helped define the Medicines Patent Pool’s business and operating model — which has since delivered almost 27 billion treatment doses across 148 countries. We helped PSI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to define key markets for new HIV self-testing products. And we regularly work with other leaders in HIV like the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization.

Even smaller businesses can make a difference in their communities by sponsoring education events with local health organizations. In December, for example, we hosted a webinar with CVS Health about improving HIV access to LGTBQ+ communities, as part of our partnership to help improve the health of those communities.

I’m proud of what my company does to end HIV. But I am even prouder of what our people do on their own. Every year, employee-led Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) organize AIDS walks and donations in cities throughout the U.S., raising thousands of dollars. Accenture often matches all or part of the money donated.

With people and businesses like yours and mine, we can push HIV just a little closer to the dustbin of history. We can do this.