My Mandela Day

Sunday, July 18 marked Nelson Mandela's 92 birthday and it also marked the start of the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria — a place where world leaders, activists, scientific experts and the AIDS advocacy community convene every two years to take stock and map out the way ahead in the fight against the pandemic.

In honor of Mandela Day and his 67 years of service to humanity, I'm taking 67 minutes to write a brief reflection on the AIDS crisis — a crisis that Mandela kept high on the world's agenda long after his presidency.

I first had the honor of hearing Madiba speak at the same conference in Barcelona eight years ago. I darted through the conference like a deer caught in headlights. Our tiny pop-up stand in the exhibitor's area was the target of mass protests. My organization at the time, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS led by Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, though an NGO and a fledging start-up, was representing the global business sector for the very first time at an international AIDS conference. Something previously reserved only for pharmaceutical companies with relevant commodities.

Act-Up and other activist groups were on fire because some of the companies in the Coalition did not have robust HIV/AIDS policies and programs: a rightful criticism, particularly for those that had taken credit where credit wasn't due. But it was also a step backwards, making companies that had come forward with an interest in getting involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS skittish and weary of attack.

In his closing remarks at the conference, Madiba's words brought the message full circle. He called on leaders across sectors, "not only political leaders, but also business leaders, union leaders, religious leaders, traditional leaders and the leaders of NGOs," to take responsibility for the fight against AIDS. He drove home why a few of us in New York City had taken on this challenge of bringing business to the table.

From that day I committed to embrace the protests as the start of a conversation — a dialogue that over time would leverage the best of the business sector and social sector to hopefully put an end to the pandemic. Now, in nearly every international meeting on HIV/AIDS in the world today, you're likely to find the business sector represented.

Today, we're still building that bridge. At Virgin Unite, inspired by another of the world's great entrepreneurs, Richard Branson (who's lucky enough to share a birthday with Madiba), we are working hand in hand with the South African government and incredible health leaders in the region to create a Disease Control Hub that will help track and coordinate responses to diseases and health crises. While the AIDS crisis continues to unfold, people coming together to set politics aside and create such an innovative, cross-sector partnership illustrates progress from all sides. Although it is in its early planning stages, the development of this program represents a willingness to take a risk and do things differently to help countries and communities take control of the pandemic.

I'm not writing today as a policy expert or a social entrepreneur, but just to remind myself and others that it's essential to stay connected and contribute personally to the fight against HIV/AIDS. While Climate Change and the war on terror have taken the headlines over the past few years, this week we're sure to see loads of stories about the AIDS epidemic that highlight grave statistics, shine a spotlight on brilliant frontline responses and call for a more effective use of resources. Just before the conference, UNAIDS released its latest global statistics — a mix of progress and alarm:

In addition, according to estimates by the US Centers for Disease Control, one-fifth of the 1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS do not know their status.

Back in 2002, Madiba closed his speech and called on everyone "to ask themselves what they have personally done to help diminish the impact of the AIDS pandemic." Today, I'm surrounded in my apartment by memorabilia from AIDS conferences past — cartoon condoms, beaded ribbons, Chinese playing cards with HIV prevention messages, my dusty handbook from the Gay Men's Health Crisis, marking my days as a volunteer HIV testing counselor — and I'm realizing that I haven't dedicated a moment of personal time to the AIDS fight in the past four years. While a drop in the bucket, later today I'll be taking boxes of clothing and household items to Housing Works, a New York City based charity that supports the twin crisis of AIDS and homelessness.

And today, I wanted to get the message out, and call on all of you in the spirit of Mandela Day and do something ... read about the crisis (www.unaids.org); donate to great frontline efforts like Partners In Health; or get tested.

Virgin staff around the world are uniting to dedicate 67 minutes of their time to Mandela Day. Let us know what you're doing: http://www.virginunite.com/campaign2/USA/Nelson-Mandela-Day

As Virgin Unite’s Director of Strategy & Business Development, Priya Bery helps incubate Global Leadership Initiatives and catalyzes partnerships to support entrepreneurial approaches to the world’s toughest problems. Bery is on Tonic's Board of Advisors and loves to write about entrepreneurs doing good.