HIV charity benefits from business training

Immediate release

Four senior staff from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) have started a 18-month International Masters in Practicing Management (IMPM) programme thanks to funding from the Harafi Foundation.

The Alliance is constantly seeking new ways to deliver effective global responses to HIV and believes that practice from the business sector has a lot to offer the organization.

Sam McPherson is the Alliance’s Associate Director of Programmes and one of the participants. “The chance to take part in internationally renowned MBA- level training along with other senior managers from global businesses is an unprecedented opportunity for a non-governmental worker.

“It shows the Alliance recognises the need to invest in training of senior management to improve performance and to deliver the ‘bottom line’ even if that ‘bottom line’ is very different to a global corporate company,” he said.

The programme provides the Alliance with the opportunity to build lasting and productive relationships with corporate sector course participants and the business schools involved.

IMPM is run by six business schools: the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Lancaster University Management School in the UK, McGill Faculty of Management in Canada, INSEAD in France and business schools in Japan and Korea.

The course uses the participants own situation as the business cases, applying experience and insight to improve their management practices.

The first module was held in the UK at Lancaster University Management School. Participants will complete the other modules in different countries where they visit local companies to observe different managerial practices.

Rajan Mani is the Finance and Administration Director for the Alliance in India. “I was attracted to joining the IMPM course as its emphasis is more practical than theoretical.

“What struck me about our first module was that many of the challenges we face at the Alliance are no different to the corporate world,” he said.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editor

  • The International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is a global partnership of nationally-based organizations working to support communities to reduce the spread of HIV and meet the challenge of AIDS. The Alliance provide support to organizations from more than 40 developing countries for over 3,000 projects, reaching some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities with HIV prevention, care, support and improves access to treatment. www.aidsalliance.org
  • The four Alliance participants are Rajan Mani from India, Sam McPherson from the UK, Robinson Cabello from Peru and Lydia Saloucou from Burkina Faso.
  • Further details about the International Masters in Practicing Management can be found at: www.impm.org
  • The Harafi Foundation, based in Switzerland, is a grant making foundation which supports projects in the fields of the arts, education, nature conservation and public health. It targets its contributions on innovative and sustainable programmes which produce tangible results. The Foundation is active in the French part of Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

    The result oriented IMPM programme and the promising relationship between the Alliance and the corporate sector has encouraged the Harafi Foundation to support the Alliance participation for a second year.

  • In 2007 around 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV and over 2 million people died of HIV-related illnesses.
  • The Alliance employs 120 staff in its secretariat in Brighton and another 200 staff in country offices around the world. In 2007Alliance income reached USD$64.4 million.