Private Sector plays a dominant and increasing role in Indian economy. The contribution from the private sector for the Social Development activities has been recognized crucial in developing countries like India. Similarly HIV/AIDS prevention & care program in India can be very successful with involvement of private sector at various levels. The efforts of bilateral and multilateral organizations in preventing HIV/AIDS and caring for those affected by HIV/AIDS needs to be complemented by partnerships from the private sector.

Private Sectors’ involvement in the HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs is not a mere expression of their social responsibility to the cause, but it has business, economic and moral sense. HIV/AIDS has a direct impact on companies’ profitability. The economic effects of HIV/AIDS in companies are increased absenteeism and staff turnover, high recruitment and training cost, increased cost in medical care and insurance coverage, retirement benefits and funeral cost and a declining morale and productivity among employees. Private Sector can act in advance before the epidemic of HIV/AIDS becomes generalized in the population and prevent any such adverse situations in the businesses.

Business enterprises need healthy people in society to run their businesses with more economic sense. Business enterprises’ engagement in HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs could be reflected as their effort to protect people in the society who could be their potential direct or indirect employees delivering their goods and services, or could be employees’ family members, or could be people involved in their supply chain network and logistics or more importantly could be the consumers of their goods and services. Therefore private sector becomes an important stakeholder in the HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs.

APAC collaborates with the private and public sector to leverage the strengths of the private sector and strategically involve the private and public sector in its programs. Some of the public private partnership initiatives that APAC had taken up are listed below:

• A Center of Excellence for treatment of HIV/AIDS has been established at IRT, Perundurai Medical College.

• Industrial Interventions taken up in Collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have reached more than 50,000 workers, and more than 200 companies have now put in place a HIV/AIDS work place policy.

• Partnership with leading Condom manufacturers viz. Hindustan Latex Limited, TTK - LIG & JK Ansell for Social Marketing with special focus on low priced condoms has substantially improved condom availability in the intervention areas.

• Condom retailers were trained through the National Institute of Sales under a program specially designed for APAC.

• High way clinic has been established in partnership with Apollo Tyres for providing STI & HIV related services for truckers.

• The program has partnered with Ashok Leyland driving school to impart HIV/AIDS related information as part of the driving curriculum.

• My Life My Choice in Madurai is a project in the RTO Office of the State transport Department, where HIV/AIDS communication is given to applicants before a license in issued to them. This program has reached 33,000 heavy vehicle drivers.

• APAC has partnered with Southern Railways for establishing a Counseling and Testing Center at Chennai Central Railway Station.

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