Fiona Paua


Fiona Paua is Head of Strategic Insight Teams at the World Economic Forum where she leads the Global Competitiveness, Global Risks and Scenario Planning teams. She is also a Senior Adviser to the Executive Chairman and in this capacity, she launched The Forum of Young Global Leaders and the Global Leadership Fellows Programme. She joined the World Economic Forum as Economist for the Global Competitiveness Programme and has served as co-Editor of the Global Information Technology Report series. Previously, she was Vice President and the Country Head of Research for Citibank Philippines and a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the United States, Hong Kong, and Singapore. She is the Co-Founder of b2bpricenow.com, winner of the 2001 Development Marketplace Award and Infodev Award of the World Bank. Ms Paua has a BA dual honors degree in Asian Studies and Government from Dartmouth College and a Master in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.




Papers Published in World Economics:


HIV/AIDS: A Growing Concern to Business

Recent years have seen calls for the private sector to become more involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Business has valuable skills and other resources that could assist government and civil society efforts, and some firms (although by no means all) also have strong reasons for involvement. HIV/AIDS hits hardest the working-age individuals who make up the bulk of the private sector’s workforce and consumer base. As well as a moral case for action, deflecting the virus's impacts on employees and economies can avert business costs and strengthen corporate reputations. This article presents some of the key arguments for business action on HIV/AIDS and provides examples of where business has less reason to be concerned about the impact of the epidemic in specific situations. It also outlines findings from the World Economic Forum's 2006 Executive Opinion Survey, which polls the views of over 11,000 business leaders in 125 countries. It finds a small proportion of firms reporting that the virus is seriously affecting their operations, with the greatest effects felt in Sub-Saharan Africa. A much larger proportion of firms believe the virus will affect them in the next five years. Despite this growing worldwide concern, it is primarily companies in the hardest-hit countries that have developed policies to cope with the threat. It is noteworthy that most firms are basing their action or inaction on a subjective perception of the risk posed by HIV/AIDS, rather than on a formal risk assessment.

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