UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Marking World Aids Day, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Wall Street the effects of the disease go beyond the humanitarian and into the economic sphere.
He called on business leaders to fight the epidemic's course through various methods, including joining forces with other financial players and encouraging clients to take a pro-active role in the fight against AIDS.
Annan spoke at "Wall Street World Aids Day" even organized by six of the largest financial services companies in the world.
"HIV/AIDS is a global problem of catastrophic proportions," Annan said. "Experts now agree that it is the worst epidemic humanity has ever faced. It has spread further, faster and with more devastating long-term effect than any other disease.
"AIDS is uniquely disruptive to economies, because it kills people in the prime of their lives," he continued. "Especially in its early stages, the epidemic tends to strike urban centers, the better educated, the leadership elite and the most productive members of society. These deaths leach profits out of businesses and economies."
Added Annan, "Corporate programs to educate the workforce about HIV can become a cornerstone of the global prevention program."
