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Resolution: Global Pandemic HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
2003 Shareholder Resolution approved by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR)
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Resolution:
Global Pandemic
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
WHEREAS:
Investors have an interest in how our company balances
long-term issues with shorter-term performance;
One long-term factor relevant to our company is the public health crisis confronting emerging markets and its implications for the future sustainability of our company’s current business model;
There are more than 42 million people worldwide currently living with HIV/AIDS, over 95% of whom live in the developing world (AIDS Epidemic Update, December 2002, UNAIDS/WHO);
Effective treatments for HIV/AIDS exists, but fewer than 4% of those who need of antiretroviral treatment in low and middle-income countries have access to it (AIDS Epidemic Update);
According to UNAIDS, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is “creating or aggravating poverty among millions of people, eroding human capital, weakening government institutions and threatening business activities and investment” (Financing Development in the Shadow of HIV/AIDS, March 2002, UNAIDS);
Business leaders at the 2002 World Economic Forum committed themselves to the fight against AIDS as a business priority (Financing Development in the Shadow of HIV/AIDS);
TUBERCULOSIS, one of the world's leading infectious causes of death, takes 2 million lives a year and is a leading killer of people with HIV/AIDS (Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, 2001, Doctors Without Borders);
Virtually no new research is being conducted to develop new treatments for TB, a disease that Doctors Without Borders calls “a political and social problem that could have incalculable consequences for generations to come” (Campaign for Access);
MALARIA kills between one and two million people each year and 300-500 million new cases occur every year (Campaign for Access);
Malaria is often treated in developing countries with drugs that are no longer effective, and people with resistant malaria cannot access the treatment that could save their lives (Campaign for Access);
In a report for the UN Conference on Financing for Development, UNAIDS states: “Increasing illness and death of large numbers of productive members of society will reduce overall production and consumption.” (Financing Development in the Shadow of HIV/AIDS);
Resolved: Shareholders request that our Board review the economic effects of the HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria pandemics on the company's operations worldwide and its responses to date and report to shareholders within six (6) months following the next annual meeting. This report, developed at reasonable costs and omitting proprietary information, will identify the current and projected risks, financial costs (including opportunity costs) and impacts of these pandemics on the company.
Investors want to feel confident that our board has fully considered the risks and opportunities our company faces in relation to the public health crisis in emerging markets, and has effective policies and processes in place for dealing with the challenges.
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