On October 16, 2023, the Business Council on International Understanding (BCIU), in collaboration with International SOS, convened a multi-sectoral panel of experts to discuss progress made in recent years in leveraging the wider private sector towards global health goals, exploring how to build trust, capacity, and impact.
In the current context of poly-crises, with climate change intensifying health risks and placing added pressure on communities, there is an urgent need for a fresh approach to engagement. There is a call for a new model that aims to leverage private sector expertise and resources – and not only those that reside within the pharmaceutical sector – to accelerate joint action and deliver impactful solutions on a larger scale.
Five key themes emerged from the discussions, providing a roadmap for greater collaboration across sectors and industries to achieve more together, faster.
- Build an Environment of Trust: Establishing shared goals and a common vision between sectors is essential to fostering trust and collaboration in global health.
- Take a Longer-Term View: By adopting a longer-term perspective, public and private sectors can work together to build a resilient and adaptive ecosystem that addresses global health challenges in a sustained and impactful manner.
- Create Innovative Structures: Create innovative approaches whereby multilaterals, private sector, and development banks implement strategic projects, working closely with local governments and other delivery organisations.
- Involve the Private Sector Early: Bring private sector delivery partners in early and engage them through the transparent sharing of data.
- Build Capacity & Transfer Knowledge: Collaborative efforts should focus on building and strengthening the capacity of both the public and private sectors.
We extend our thanks to our moderator, Isabelle Hagner, Director of Public Health, Africa, International SOS and our expert panellists for their participation and thoughtful comments:
- Jürgen Kretz, Senior Policy Officer, Division 100, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany
- Charlotte Schmidt, Consultant, Sovereign & Private Sector Engagement, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance
- Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary, African Leaders Malaria Alliance
- Marco Annas, VP Governmental Affairs Consumer Health, Bayer
- Dr Alois Dörlemann, Managing Director, Health Focus GmbH
For a deeper dive into the discussions and key findings, we invite you to download the full report.