World AIDS Day, celebrated on December 1, has become one of the most recognized international health days. It is an opportunity to increase awareness, remember those who have died, fight prejudice, improve education and celebrate victories. As the New York Times recently noted, it is nearly 30 years since the epidemic began, and an estimated 33.3 million people are living with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Progress continues to be made — according to the 2010 UNAIDS report 2.6 million people became newly infected with H.I.V in 2009 — almost 20 percent fewer than the annual rate in the late 1990s. The theme for World AIDS Day 2010 is ’Universal Access and Human Rights’. The world has made progress in increasing access to H.I.V and AIDS services, but greater commitment from world leaders is needed to achieve the goal of universal access. Of the millions infected with H.I.V... Read more

For 35 years, the Global Health Council has focused on critical needs in health and has often raised the clarion call for emerging public health challenges. These have included AIDS, children’s health, reproductive rights of women, and the spread of infectious diseases. This year, progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was the central theme and I participated in the opening plenary along with Tessa Wadlow from UNICEF, Ambassador Wegger Strommen from Norway, Minister of Health Kakooza from Uganda, and Sering Falu Njie from the UN Millennium Campaign. With 5 years to go before the MDG goals, set in 1990, need to be achieved, there was strong evidence of progress on several global health goals. Progress includes improved access to water, declines in under nutrition, sharp increases in vaccine coverage, and greater access to malaria bed nets. However, the attainment of these goals remains uneven with... Read more

Last week I participated in Agenda 2010: The Turning Point On Poverty sponsored by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The conference recognized the progress being made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals but focused primarily on the MDGs on which the international community is failing to make the most progress: hunger and nutrition, and education and health. The conference addressed conditions needed to enable the MDGs to be met, including economic growth, stable states, the empowerment of women and tackling climate change. PepsiCo was one of two food companies, along with Unilever, invited to participate along with over 80 technical experts, key ministers and policy makers from developing countries. Of particular interest was DFID unveiling their first global under nutrition program which targets six countries. Two of them, Nigeria and India, coincide with work PepsiCo is doing in those countries on under-nutrition. I also was... Read more

No one disagrees that obesity is a complex social, economic, health and environmental issue that poses serious health risks. There is significant controversy on the role of business, particularly the food industry, in helping to bring solutions to this complex issue. As part of our business practices, PepsiCo believes it is our responsibility to address diet and health concerns working alongside government, NGOs and other global companies, as it requires a collective effort to effectively reduce the health risks of individuals. In our continued and ever-growing ‘Performance with Purpose’ platform, our CEO, Indra Nooyi, remains committed to the principles of public-private partnerships within best business practices. PepsiCo has made steady progress in addressing the issues surrounding obesity by continual enhancement of our portfolio. There are many examples of this including the introduction of new products that offer improved nutrition. We continue to reduce portion sizes and... Read more