APCO Partners with PEPFAR, Private Sector Organizations on New HIV Prevention Initiative in Africa

Washington, D.C. (December 5, 2008) – APCO Worldwide joins with the Office of the Global Aids Coordinator, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and leaders from the private sector to launch the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HIV-Free Generation), Margery Kraus, APCO president and chief executive officer, announced today.

The consultancy will provide communication, advocacy and outreach, and organizational planning support for the new initiative, which will leverage the tools and expertise of the private sector to bolster the creativity and effectiveness of the evidence-based public health approaches to HIV prevention. StudioAPCO^®, APCO’s award-winning team of producers and designers, created the brand identity for HIV-Free Generation.

“The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation provides a platform for government leaders, business executives, nongovernmental organizations, philanthropists and scholars to work together to address a daunting global health challenge,” said Dr. Linda M. Distlerath, senior vice president at APCO and co-chair of the HIV-Free Generation Global Executive Steering Committee. “I am proud that APCO is able to offer strategic counsel and support to this exciting new initiative in HIV prevention.”

HIV-Free Generation will launch on December 5, 2008, in Nairobi, Kenya, where the project aims to reduce new HIV infections among Nairobi youth in targeted communities by 50 percent over a five-year period. It is expected that the HIV-Free Generation initiative will expand to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa within the next one to two years.

APCO joins many other partners from the business and NGO communities in supporting the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation, including Accenture, Africa Media Broadcast Partnership Against HIV/AIDS, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Draper Richards Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA, Grassroot Soccer, Hasbro, Intel, Junior Achievement, Kenya Girl Guides Association, AmericaShare/Micato Safaris, Microsoft, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Nike Foundation, Rotarians for Fighting AIDS, TechnoServe and Warner Bros. Advanced Media Services Inc.

APCO’s work with PEPFAR builds upon the firm’s significant expertise in global health, having worked with major organizations and partnerships involved in addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases affecting the developing world. These include the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development; the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative; the Vaccine Fund/Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization; the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicine; Global Health Progress; and BIOVentures for Global Health.

About APCO Worldwide

Founded in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an award-winning, independently owned global communication consultancy with offices in major cities throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., APCO clients include corporations and governments; industry associations and nonprofit organizations; and seven of the top 10 companies on Fortune’s Global 500. APCO offers services related to business and finance; media, public opinion and society; and government and public policy. The firm is a majority women-owned business. For more information, please visit www.apcoworldwide.com.

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Contact:
Elizabeth Wolf
+202.778.1470
ewolf@apcoworldwide.com