Reflection on Global Business Coalition 2 day meeting and award ceremony

Jun 28, 2010 | by Shaun Walsh, Executive Director

I have just attended the Global Business Coalition’s annual conference in Washington, DC, where “more than 200 of the world’s top companies … united with the public sector [to take] front-line action on global health.” The event brought together many of these companies, top government officials, dignitaries and not-for-profits. With presenters and speakers such as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and activist and recording star Annie Lennox, the event drew a great deal of media attention.

As the Executive Director of NetsforLife^®, I was there with my colleagues Meg L. DeRonghe, Director of Business Development, and Dr. Stephen Dzisi, Technical Director. Over the course of two days, we took part in panel discussions, representing Episcopal Relief & Development and highlighting the distinctive nature of NetsforLife^®: a joint venture between the Anglican Communion in Africa, corporate and foundation core partners and other key contributors to form a unique and diverse “Partnership for Malaria Prevention in Africa.”

In various discussions during the two days, many people asked how NetsforLife^®successfully merges the mentality of the corporate world with the “healing a hurting world” worldview of Episcopal Relief & Development.   I see my role and that of NetsforLife^® as aligning these two different and potentially conflicting worldviews. The bottom line is that we all want to save lives, which is a very good basis for going forward together.   I believe there are, and indeed am witness to, three key ingredients that are part and parcel of the recipe for success and that result from the merging of a humanitarian imperative with business acumen:

1. Compassionate leveraging: We look for opportunities to leverage existing resources with new initiatives in order to save more lives, and to do this in a way that is both business-like and people-focused—i.e., always including the human equation as well. 
2. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation: We do what we say, we measure what we do and we verify both.
3. Instilling a “net culture”—a community-wide understanding of the protective value of nets and the right way to use and maintain them: In the world of business and human development, issues of behavior change/preferences and sustainability are crucial. NetsforLife^® measures net use and, indirectly, the acquiring and adopting of a net culture by individuals, families and communities. The adoption of this culture will be the legacy the program leaves behind.

Episcopal Relief & Development’s Board Chair, the Rt. Rev. Robert J. O’Neill, joined us for the finale of the conference, the award ceremony.  The GBC awards ceremony honors recipients every year for excellence in business action and ultimately showcases corporate initiatives that serve as prime examples of how public and private partnerships can work together to achieve great impact and results.   NetsforLife^® was put forward by The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, ExxonMobil and Standard Chartered Bank for the award for Excellence in Partnership and Collective Action and was honored to be chosen as the category winner.

Joined by Bishop O’Neill and a representative from each of our corporate partners, I was truly honored to be on stage receiving the award. Really, though, it was an opportunity to represent the incredible hard work and dedication of the Anglican Communion in Africa.  The Anglican Communion has mobilized an army of tens of thousands of community volunteers who work day in and day out with the local NetsforLife^® teams to make the program a success. Corporate and foundation stakeholders are essential in running a program of our size, but without these grassroots volunteers—who serve people at the “end of the road”—none of us would be up on that stage. I dedicate this award to these key stakeholders and want to say a big thank you for the way they step up and serve their communities.

For my part, it has been a blessing to be a part of the growth and outreach of the NetsforLife^® program.  On behalf of the millions of lives it has touched—and the 64,000-plus lives that have been saved since its beginning in 2006—I say a big thank you to ALL stakeholders at all levels for their vital work. Each of them contributes invaluably to the whole.