ABSTRACT
The most high-profile corporate responsibility issue in the first half of 2001 was whether pharmaceutical companies were helping or hindering the treatment of millions of HIV/AIDS sufferers in the South by their pricing and patenting of drugs. United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan repeatedly raised the issue of AIDS, and, at the World Economic Forum, the President of MTV, William Roedy, joined him in challenging the business community to become more involved in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Merck President Raymond Gilmartin said their goal was 'to spur efforts to accelerate access to the life-saving medications in those developing countries where the HIV/AIDS epidemic has taken such a widespread and devastating toll'. Recognising the complexity of the problem and the new opportunity for action, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the pharmaceutical companies to join governments and civil society in the fight against AIDS by participating in a Global AIDS and Health Fund.
