India is experiencing a period of high economic growth and rapid social and demographic change. There is increasing concern about the manner in which this transformation is impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While the Government of India has taken significant measures to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, much remains to be done. Given the complexity of the challenge, an effective response requires the engagement of all sectors. The private sector, alongside other stakeholders, can play an important part not only by contributing to the efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention and the reduction of stigma and discrimination, but also for the care, support and treatment of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). The report presents challenges, good practices and success stories about how Informational Technology (IT) companies in India are addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS. It demonstrates the mounting will and commitment of IT leaders to respond to the epidemic. The IT industry in India is young in terms of both its stage of development and the age of its workforce which averages 18-35 years. Reflecting the composition of the sector, the report documents the experiences not only of large companies in India's IT sector, but also of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Each company has used different approaches to address HIV/AIDS among its workforce including community outreach activities. By capturing these companies' experiences, the report seeks to foster a more active response to HIV/AIDS from India's IT community and to encourage new partnerships to leverage the goodwill and competencies of this sector.

How should the corporate sector engage in fighting the global burden of the AIDS epidemic? India's relatively low HIV prevalence rate often raises the question of whether it is in corporate sector interest to allocate resources to combat HIV and AIDS. The five case studies in this report feature a selection of Indian companies that felt compelled to engage in this fight and id allocate resources in order to do so. The challenges these companies encountered and innovative methods they used to surmount these challenges serve as useful lessons for those interested in launching similar intiatives.

Contains reference material of the HIV/AIDS to the enterprises, employers' and workers' organizations, and also agencies engaged in providing support to HIV/AIDS workplace policy and programme, as suggested by the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work.

Birth in the Age of AIDS is a vivid and poignant portrayal of the experiences of HIV-positive women in India during pregnancy, birth, and motherhood at the beginning of the 21st century. The government of India, together with global health organizations, established an important public health initiative to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child. While this program, which targets poor women attending public maternity hospitals, has improved health outcomes for infants, it has resulted in sometimes devastatingly negative consequences for poor, young mothers because these women are being tested for HIV in far greater numbers than their male spouses and are often blamed for bringing this highly stigmatized disease into the family. Based on research conducted by the author in India, this book chronicles the experiences of women from the point of their decisions about whether to accept HIV testing, through their decisions about whether or not to continue with the birth if they test HIV-positive, their birthing experiences in hospitals, decisions and practices surrounding breast-feeding vs. bottle-feeding, and their hopes and fears for the future of their children.

India is experiencing a period of high economic growth and rapid social and demographic change. There is increasing concern about the manner in which this transformation is impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While the Government of India has taken significant measures to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, much remains to be done. Given the complexity of the challenge, an effective response requires the engagement of all sectors. The private sector, alongside other stakeholders, can play an important part not only by contributing to the efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention and the reduction of stigma and discrimination, but also for the care, support and treatment of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). The report presents challenges, good practices and success stories about how Informational Technology (IT) companies in India are addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS. It demonstrates the mounting will and commitment of IT leaders to respond to the epidemic. The IT industry in India is young in terms of both its stage of development and the age of its workforce which averages 18-35 years. Reflecting the composition of the sector, the report documents the experiences not only of large companies in India's IT sector, but also of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Each company has used different approaches to address HIV/AIDS among its workforce including community outreach activities. By capturing these companies' experiences, the report seeks to foster a more active response to HIV/AIDS from India's IT community and to encourage new partnerships to leverage the goodwill and competencies of this sector.