Baidu’s Robin Li Launches UNAIDS High Commission Statement on HIV Prevention

Beijing, 01 December 2010 – Robin Li, founder and CEO of Baidu, leading Chinese entrepreneur, and member of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention, today issued a statement on HIV prevention, highlighting the importance of scaling up prevention efforts in China and globally in order to address the spread of HIV.

The statement from Mr. Li, the only Chinese member of the High Level Commission on HIV Prevention, emphasised the importance of building on approaches that have been proven effective. The statement calls for a revolution in the approach being taken to HIV prevention -- a revolution that must involve the rapid scale-up of successful prevention strategies, development of better ways to measure changes in the HIV epidemic, leadership from political and business leaders, and expansion of practical protection of human rights. 

Robin Li, a leading figures in China’s Internet industry, became a member of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention in July this year. The Commission includes more than 15 world renowned leaders, including former presidents, leading entrepreneurs, and civil society figures from around the world. Commissioners use their unique authority and influence to give impetus to social and political action to galvanize support for effective HIV prevention programmes.

As one of the most influential global business leaders, Robin Li is uniquely placed to promote new and innovative strategies to prevent HIV. Robin Li highlighted the importance of private sector involvement and emphasised his commitment to the AIDS response. “The private sector has a critical role to play in the response to HIV both in China and internationally. Through promoting innovative new approaches, and working together with the public sector, companies like Baidu can make an important contribution to strengthening the HIV response,” Mr. Li went on to outline his personal commitment as a member of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention. “Moving forward in my role as a commissioner, I plan to bring together leading figures and thinkers from the fields of new and social media to develop innovative new ways of preventing HIV and enhancing prevention efforts in China,” he said.

Today, Baidu will feature a red ribbon banner on its homepage, showing solidarity with people living with HIV worldwide, and helping to raise awareness around HIV. At the same time, a giant red ribbon will be hung from the Baidu Headquarters in Beijing’s Shangdi district. Crucially, Robin Li has also taken concrete steps to outlaw discrimination within Baidu, organizing awareness raising sessions for staff, and developing a Baidu goodwill ambassador programme to ensure that all Baidu staff nationwide receive relevant training. In response to Robin Li’s call to raise awareness around HIV, the 350,000 member websites of the Baidu Union platform will work together to spread messages on HIV awareness and anti stigmatization and discrimination to over 100 million Internet users in China.

Key among the recommendations set out in the statement was the expansion of practical measures to protect the rights of those living with, and vulnerable to, HIV infection. Through ensuring that the rights of these people, we can encourage them to come forward to access lifesaving prevention and treatment services, resulting in fewer infections and deaths, and thus stopping the spread of the HIV epidemic. Protecting rights requires the prioritization of efforts to prevent stigmatization and discrimination in all settings, through raising awareness and fully implementing laws that outlaw discrimination on the grounds of HIV status. The private sector has a particularly important role to play where workplace discrimination is concerned. By implementing zero discrimination policies and ensuring that recruitment and HR policies do not discriminate against those living with HIV, private sector companies can set an example for the rest of society. Launching the statement, Robin Li said, “Addressing discrimination in the workplace is a key element of the Prevention Revolution. Baidu is committed to a policy of zero discrimination. People living with HIV have equal rights to employment and should not be discriminated against under any circumstances.”

For additional information on UNAIDS kindly refer to www.unaids.org and www.unaids.org.cn

Contact

Guy Taylor | UNAIDS China | +86 10 8532 2226 | taylorg@unaids.org