world AIDS day: 31 years in the fight

World AIDS Day takes place on the first of December each year. The day was first recognized in 1988 to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic, show support for people living with HIV and remember those who have died of AIDS-related causes.

Around the same time in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chevron and other companies began to see the disease affect employees and their community. In 1986, Chevron joined 13 other Bay Area companies to promote HIV/AIDS education in the workplace.

A few years later, Chevon began noticing that some of our largest operations were in areas where the grip of AIDS was growing rapidly. We began developing our own workplace education and support programs, and we launched partnerships around the globe to help educate communities, prevent new infections and improve access to care and support. In 2005, Chevron was the first oil and gas company to institute a global comprehensive HIV/AIDS Program and Policy for employees, including access to HIV treatment for employees and their dependents.

This World AIDS Day, we not only reflect on Chevron’s commitment to fighting the disease the past 31 years, but also on what strides we’ve made in 2017.

Chevron first partnered with the non-governmental organization Pact in 2012. Throughout the years we have had numerous successes. In Nigeria, 55,700 pregnant women have taken HIV tests, received their results and been counseled at health facilities. By having pregnant women receive their test results, this partnership can help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).

This year we continued the community-based project with Pact, PROMOT II, that works to reduce new pediatric HIV infections and prevent mother-to-child transmission. The project promotes health care in women of reproductive age, encouraging them to use antenatal care and PMTCT services, and builds the capacity of communities to advocate for accessible, high-quality health services.

The project utilizes Pact’s WORTH program, which provides training in literacy, numeracy, savings, and financial skills, to increase families’ economic resources and potential. The women save together and provide loans to one another to create new businesses or expand existing ones. In addition to the financial benefits, the groups also provide a supportive environment for women to discuss their challenges and needs and learn about health topics such as HIV and nutrition.

read one woman’s personal story

Since 2008, Chevron has partnered with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to support programs in Angola, Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

This year Chevron allocated $2.5 million to the implementation of the Chevron-Global Fund Anti-Retroviral Treatment Service Maintenance Program (ART) in Nigeria.

“The ART Program will help bridge a critical national health gap and continue Chevron’s work in achieving an AIDS-free generation. The program will help reduce new HIV infections and improve the quality of life for the infected and affected people in the communities of the targeted states. Additionally, it will provide Nigerians with universal access to high-quality, patient-centered prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for tuberculosis, HIV and drug-resistant tuberculosis by 2020,” said Esimaje Brikinn, general manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited.

read the announcement

In Oakland, California, Chevron partnered with The California Prevention Education Project to expand its mobile HIV testing and treatment services. We are providing a new mobile unit that will offer HIV testing and counseling to marginalized people in the East Bay Area, particularly the homeless who are at greater risk of HIV and are not able to get health services regularly. The new mobile unit will start providing health services in December 2017.

We partnered with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) to launch a similar mobile testing unit in San Francisco in 2016. Since inception, the SFAF mobile testing has served 3,550 residents in the San Francisco Bay Area.

These examples of support to local communities reflect the long commitment we have had in the fight against AIDS, a commitment that was recognized by Chevron receiving the inaugural Corporate Pillar Award from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. This award recognizes companies whose leadership and partnership helps bring an end to the AIDS epidemic.

December 1 is an important reminder that HIV/AIDS has not gone away – there is still a vital need to increase awareness, fight stigma and improve education. Chevron is proud to continue in the fight so that one day we can celebrate a World AIDS Day where everyone is free of HIV.