Anglo American pledges US$ 3 million to the Global Fund
11 November 2010
Follows a Call for Action at G20 Business Summit in Seoul
Seoul – Anglo American plc, one of the world’s leading mining companies, today announced that it has pledged US$3 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the next three years. The announcement was made during the G20 Business Summit, following a Call for Joint Action on Global Health led by Anglo American and Takeda Pharmaceuticals of Japan for corporate healthcare action in developing countries.
“I am delighted to lead this initiative with Yasuchika Hasegawa, President and CEO of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.” said Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American. “Anglo American has a deep understanding of the clear business case for investment in health to promote economic growth in developing economies. We ask our fellow G20 Business Summit participants to match that commitment”.
Ms. Carroll also said she hoped that such action would also act as a catalyst for further similar investments from large companies around the world: “Together we can make a real and lasting difference,” she stated.
The G20 Business Summit is a cooperative effort between the public and private sectors and sees many of the world’s top CEOs engaging in discussion with state leaders ahead of the G20 meeting in Seoul.
Earlier this year, Takeda Pharmaceutical pledged US$10 million to the Global Fund for the next ten years.
“We are very grateful to Anglo American and Takeda for leading this movement during the G20 Business Summit and for showing their commitment to global health and to the work of the Global Fund,” said Prof. Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “In a globalized world, businesses and foundations are increasingly seeing the value of participation in global health initiatives, so we hope that many other private sector companies will follow their example and join the fight against the three diseases”.
The G20 Business Summit is hosting 112 global businesses, representing an asset value of $30 trillion and annual sales of $4 trillion. The Summit organizers hope that the call to action will result in approximately $300 million being pledged over the next three years to help tackle the developing world’s healthcare challenges.