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usan Smith Ellis is CEO of (RED), an initiative launched in 2006 to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The (PRODUCT) RED brand is licensed to partner companies that create and sell products under the (PRODUCT) RED brand and then contribute a percentage of revenue from each sale to the Global Fund to help finance AIDS programs in Africa. Susan Smith Ellis shares her thoughts on (RED)’s mission to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa with PSI’s Director of New Business Development Shannon England.

Ms. England: Based on your work in using the private sector to raise money for health initiatives, is the battle being won or lost?

Ms. Smith Ellis: There has been incredible progress over the past few years in engaging the private sector in these initiatives. In the first four years of the Global Fund, business had given only $5 million to support its global health initiatives, compared to $5 billion from governments. In the past four years since (RED) was created, we’ve been able to channel $150 million from business to the Global Fund to support AIDS programs in Africa.
Still, while we’ve seen great progress, there is so much more to be done. In Africa, there are 3,800 people still dying a day from a preventable, treatable disease and millions more who need access to antiretroviral (ARV) medicine. It will take continued and increased involvement and commitment from both the private and public sector to address this need.

Ms. England: Are there other ways private-sector techniques could be leveraged to promote other global health initiatives?

Ms. Smith Ellis: Perhaps the most important things that business can bring to bear on these issues is marketing talent and best practices used day in and day out to help companies run efficiently and effectively. First, the private sector has the best marketing talent. It is their job to build attention for their brand or their product. Beyond marketing, global health initiatives can learn a lot from how business is run.
For example, the Global Fund has entered into a unique pro bono partnership with Standard Bank, Africa’s largest banking group, through which Standard Bank offers financial and management expertise to Global Fund grant recipients in selected countries in Africa. The partnership not only helps ensure that Global Fund resources are distributed in-country in a timely manner and that reporting requirements are met, but it also helps train in-country recipients on skills that can be applied on a broader level.

Ms. England: There is an emerging consensus among global health policy makers that a focus on women’s health is a must for durable development. Could you foresee targeting this issue specifically?

Ms. Smith Ellis: While our mission is to help eliminate AIDS in Africa, we recognize that this cannot be achieved without a special focus on women within the programs the (RED) money supports. Nearly 60 percent of the people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are women, and more than 90 percent of the children living with HIV are infected through mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, around the time of birth or through breastfeeding. It is absolutely critical to our mission to engage women in this fight and encourage them to know their status and, if positive, to stay healthy and, if negative, to maintain that status. The Global Fund finances more than half of all treatment to prevent transmission of HIV from mothers to their children. With sustained investment, the world can reach the goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015.

Ms. England: In the new (RED) film “The Lazarus Effect,” viewers see the incredible power of ARV drugs. Do you feel prevention plays an equally powerful role in fighting HIV/AIDS?

Ms. Smith Ellis: “The Lazarus Effect” illustrates the life-restoring effects of ARV drugs – delivering people from near death to health in as little as 40 days. Increased access to this medicine has not only given millions a new chance at life, but it has opened the door to increasing prevention as well. Today, people come to the clinic to get tested and this creates y the opportunity to discuss prevention as well. We know that these two things need to go hand in hand if we are truly going to stop the spread of this disease.

Biography

As director of New Business Development, Shannon England is the senior technical resource for PSI programs working on proposals, and she develops strategy for the department. Ms. England has served in several roles within PSI, including senior program manager for Asia and voluntary counseling and testing program development manager in Lusaka.