How Companies Are Fighting HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

By: Ray Pellecchia

File Under: Listed Companies

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There are 3 billion people in 109 countries at risk of getting malaria. In 2006, tuberculosis killed 1.7 million people and there were 9.2 million new cases of the disease. More than 15 million people have been orphaned as a result of AIDS.

“The numbers are almost unbelievable – millions of deaths from some of these diseases, and millions of orphans. The easy or the jaded reaction might be to throw up your hands and say, ‘What can we possibly do? It’s too big,’” says Joerg Reinhardt, CEO of Novartis, in the current issue of nyse magazine.

What Novartis and more than 200 other companies have done -- beyond their individual efforts -- is to begin working together on these problems under the auspices of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC). Our magazine includes a CEO roundtable among the leaders of four GMC member companies: Novartis AG; Becton, Dickinson and Co.; The Brink’s Co. ; and NYSE Euronext; plus GBC Executive Director John Tedstrom.

I grabbed the magazine for some in-flight reading material on a quick business trip, and was hardly expecting a glimpse at global, life-and-death problems and the necessity and value of working cooperatively to solve them. But there it was, followed by the thought to share this with anyone who hasn’t seen it. So out came the laptop, and here are a few learnings from the article.

Employees are motivated by community involvement. “Our employees – whether they’re nurses, laboratory scientists or just someone who is good with a hammer and can help build a facility – oversubscribe to volunteer programs so they can use their skills, says Becton, Dickinson’s Ludwig.

You don’t have to be a pharmaceutical or medical company to contribute. Michael Dan, CEO of Brink’s, says these diseases are a safety issue for the company’s 50,000 employees around the world, so Brink’s educates its people, makes sure they have access to health care and testing, and localizes its charitable efforts. In the same vein, NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer says global health issues are a natural fit an increasingly global company, which is using its visibility to generate attention on these problems, for example hosting a World Malaria Day event.

Big problems can be broken into manageable pieces. “…By working together, breaking actions down to a micro level, we can make some progress with one intervention in one country in one area, then move on to the next one,” says Ludwig. Reducing the health crisis to something that’s actionable will bring more people into it. They’ll say, ‘Okay, I can do that.’”

We have to keep at it. “To put this bluntly, part of it is just that everyone’s attention span is short,” says Duncan. It was more than a decade ago when public figures were providing a very effective messaging campaign. Then it seemed like the world moved on to other issues.”

There’s help for companies thinking about where to start. The GBC recently established a team of five people who help members determine which programs offer companies the biggest impact for their investment of time, money or resources.

As always, your thoughts are welcome, in the comment box below. Have a good weekend, folks.