Chevron and HIV/AIDS: A legacy of resilience

AIDS 2020: Virtual’s theme of resilience is more poignant than ever as we all seek to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing global health landscape and to persevere in the face of uncertainty. The call for resilience “to lead advocacy and program implementation until new infections are stopped and everyone has access to prevention, treatment and the social support they need” is closely tied to Chevron’s approach of continually investing in our workforce and communities to improve health.

I see resilience as a sustained commitment and collaborative approach for enabling global health security, equality and justice. The world is changing due to COVID19, and it will forever affect our health systems and their fragility. The need for publicprivate partnerships is greater than ever and we must work together to address the continued disproportionate impacts on certain populations and communities.

The Bay Area is more than just home to our corporate headquarters. Four decades ago, Chevron and other companies began to see the effect AIDS was having on their employees and community. In 1986, we joined 13 other Bay Area companies to promote HIV/AIDS education in the workplace.

Our employees around the globe participate in local AIDS walks, volunteer yearround for HIV/AIDS programs in collaboration with our health partners and have banded together every year since 2005 to create quilts to commemorate World AIDS Day. Chevron has been involved with the International AIDS Conference since 2006 and has been a sponsor of the conference since 2011.

Of course, we do not address these issues alone. In these unprecedented times, the power of our partnerships to be resilient, and in turn to support the resilience of our communities, has never been more important. Our longstanding support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and their work in Africa and the Pacific Rim fighting HIV/AIDS is just one example. Since 2008, we have contributed over $60 million, aiding their success in preventing mothertochild transmission of HIV, reducing new HIV infections and improving the quality of life for the infected and affected by the disease.

In 2018, Chevron announced a $1 million grant to Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to expand its advocacy and education work to grow U.S. support for the Global Fund’s lifesaving work and directed $2.5 million of recent funding to the implementation of the ChevronGlobal Fund AntiRetroviral Treatment Service Maintenance Program (ART) in Nigeria.

In the Bay Area, Chevron funds mobile HIV testing units in collaboration with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) and Oaklandbased California Prevention Education Project (CALPEP). Our funds and partnership enable testing, counseling and treatment, all in a comfortable space with understanding professionals.

As we strive to combat the global pandemic facing us today, there is still a vital need to increase awareness, fight stigma and improve education around HIV and AIDS. We have made tremendous strides over the last 35 years, but we need to stay strong, work together and continue the fight until we get to zero new HIV infections, zero AIDSrelated deaths and zero HIV/ AIDS stigma.

PHOTOS BY CHEVRON U.S.A. INC Left: More than 440 employees volunteer for Chevron’s Peer Health Education program. Right: Chevron volunteers started making commemorative quilts in 1993.

Chevron General Manager Enterprise Health Huma Abbasi will be on the Global Fund panel, “HIV, COVID19 and Global Health at an Inflection Point: Going Forward in Partnership,” and as a guest on the “A Shot in the Arm Podcast” session with Ben Plumley.