Oliver Cann, Director, Media Relations, Tel.: +41 79 799 3405; Email: Oliver.Cann@weforum.org
Cape Town, South Africa, 4 June 2015 – Reviewing more than 200 response activities implemented during the recent Ebola outbreak, the World Economic Forum has released a new report analysing the range of contributions and calling for action to build more effective public-private networks and partnerships in advance of the next public health emergency.
The findings of this rapid multistakeholder review suggest that there is merit in and support for a more detailed design process, to frame what a new platform of public-private cooperation should look like in order to help countries and regions at risk from future health epidemics.
“Leveraging public-private partnerships more effectively to ensure private-sector capabilities and resources are used efficiently is key for the preparedness, response and recovery efforts of future epidemics,” said Arnaud Bernaert, Senior Director and Head of Global Health and Healthcare Industries, World Economic Forum. “As the international institution for public-private cooperation, the World Economic Forum is leveraging its capabilities to assess lessons learned from the Ebola crisis, and to convene private industry leaders to develop more effective partnerships with their public counterparts.”
The report focuses on response activities reported by the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group and the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The analysis disaggregates the private-sector Ebola response engagement into three categories – in-country operators, expert capability companies and the greater private sector – and, drawing on the strengths and offerings each group brought to bear, outlines recommendations for more effective future models of collaboration.
When coordination existed between public and private sectors at a country level, it paved the way for private companies to deploy resources such as thermal systems and cameras at international airports in the region, and leverage in-country distribution networks to deliver medicine and medical supplies. Analysis of these activities in the report shows that folding the private sector even further into public-sector response efforts and discussions could have allowed these contributions to scale higher.
Establishing global, expertise-based groups was also identified as essential to fighting similar outbreaks in the future. During the Ebola outbreak, public-private collaboration brought forth innovative response activities, such as using existing technology to analyse SMS and call data from mobile phones in order to map hotspots of reported cases. However, the report found that at times these tools were developed independently of public responders, not taking into account core needs on the ground. Harnessing innovation across expertise-based companies is essential in driving the greatest impact.
“This report is a critical first step in understanding how we can be more effective in the next epidemic response,” said Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever and member of the initiative’s advisory group. “The second phase will be equally critical as we aim to implement the actions it recommends. Private companies have expertise that can help response efforts in a public health emergency. So it’s important they are involved in preparedness planning – to do their bit, draw on their capabilities wherever possible and help build a resilient infrastructure to tackle future outbreaks.”
The report, Managing the Risk and Impact of Future Epidemics: Options for Public-Private Cooperation, was developed in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group and builds on the Forum’s initiative, Health Systems Leapfrogging in Emerging Economies, which identifies ways in which resource-constrained countries can build resilient and sustainable health systems through innovation. This week at the World Economic Forum on Africa, industry, civil society and government leaders will meet to discuss the report’s findings and identify a path forward for preparatory action.
There will be more than 1,250 participants at the 25th World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, on 3-5 June 2015. The theme of the meeting is Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future. The Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum on Africa are: Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, Barclays, United Kingdom; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), USA; Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom; and Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, BT Group, United Kingdom.
Notes to Editors
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