By Paul Polman, Siddharth Chatterjee and Myriam Sidibe



The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that now is “a defining moment for modern society.  History will judge the efficacy of the response not by the actions of any single set of government actors taken in isolation, but by the degree to which the response is coordinated globally across all sectors for the benefit of our human family.”



Governments, the private sector and development institutions need to come together in innovative ways not just to flatten the curve of infection and mitigate the economic disruption, but also to prepare for the new normal of the post-Covid world in Africa and the rest of the world. &nbsp;Greater partnership between the public and private sectors is going to be critical. The fight to flatten the coronavirus curve is an acid test for stakeholder capitalism and especially for multilateralism.



As Covid-19 continues to spread sickness and death, Africa has so far escaped the worst effects. The continent’s lagging healthcare infrastructure, however, makes it highly vulnerable if the virus reaches the high-velocity community transmission we have seen in Italy, Spain and New York.&nbsp; Not only are health systems delicate, but crucial medical supplies are far from sufficient, and social protection as a whole is weak.



With the health crisis also becoming an economic and soon a social crisis, the continent is under siege.&nbsp; Many companies are struggling through the economic slowdown, with tourism and smaller enterprises the most challenged. With bankruptcy and job losses looming, many families are already reducing spending and consumption.&nbsp; In the absence of significant fiscal stimulus – which few African countries can afford anyway – some projections are cutting the continent’s GDP growth in 2020 by as much as eight percentage points.



No one knows for sure what is ahead, with scenarios changing daily as new information comes through. Many firms are focused on business continuity, employee safety and simply survival and lack the luxury of assisting external stakeholders. But it’s time for an all-hands-on-deck response, both to flatten the curve of infections and keep businesses resilient, and to be ready to restart as physical distancing ends.&nbsp; More than ever before, the private sector needs to deploy its full capabilities to innovate and bring positive, sustainable change – to help secure strong markets in the future.



There are several areas where private sector support is essential. Current priorities include unified communication platforms to enable populations to practise the needed preventative behaviors (washing hands, wearing masks, and practising physical distancing), as well as managing stocks of essential materials, test kits, ventilators and oxygen and PPE. Support would also include protecting the most vulnerable people from the economic effects of the pandemic, especially where curfews are enforced.



This is also a unique opportunity to challenge sceptics, in both the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, with a new blueprint of collaboration. The World Health Organization has issued guidelines on engaging the private sector as part of a whole-of-society response to the pandemic and has signed an iconic partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce. The African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have also launched a public-private partnership known as the Africa Covid-19 Response Fund, which raises resources to prevent transmission and support sustainable medical responses.



In Kenya the national government has led the charge in fighting Covid-19 by rapidly scaling up a large array of public health interventions and putting into force social interaction rules. To complement the government’s preparedness and response efforts for the next six months, the UN, together with humanitarian non-governmental organizations launched a flash appeal seeking over $267 million to respond to the critical needs of 10 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.&nbsp;



So far, the pandemic has not been the finest hour for international cooperation. But the role of the UN and the private sector have never been more critical as an enabler of multisectoral partnerships for deliveries, and also to keep the focus on the most vulnerable that these partnerships need to reach. &nbsp;



In Kenya, and under the leadership of the government, the UN has built a model to catalyze public-private action: the SDG Partnership Platform. It is a tested instrument for engagement that has brought together a variety of private players in previous initiatives to co-create and rapidly deploy, with government, large-scale shared-value solutions to address the challenges our societies and the planet are facing. It is through such a mechanism, for example, that the UN mobilized the private sector to carry out a maternal mortality reduction campaign in Kenya’s northeastern counties, one that was recognized as a global best practice.



Kenya’s<a href="https://www.covid19businessresponse.ke/"> National Business Compact on Coronavirus</a>, a gathering of companies aimed at accelerating local action and supporting governmental efforts against the pandemic, got successfully off the ground with the help of the UN SDG Partnership Platform, and champions from private sector and civil society. &nbsp;



The Kenyan model of cooperation could take shape all over Africa. Such models allow governments to foster an ecosystem of purposeful partnerships; to amplify private-sector philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and policy advocacy for national mitigation; and to accelerate shared-value partnerships. It also allows the UN to play its role as a neutral broker, and steer a much-needed balance between lethargic action on one hand and misdirected reactions on the other.&nbsp;



This may well be the blueprint needed to fight the next global pandemic, whose speed and fury could surpass what we are witnessing now.



– <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulPolman">Paul Polman</a> is co-founder of IMAGINE, Chair of the International Chambers of Commerce and former CEO of Unilever; <a href="https://twitter.com/sidchat1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Siddharth Chatterjee</a> is the UN Resident Coordinator of Kenya and <a href="https://twitter.com/Myriam_Sidibe">Myriam Sidibe</a> is a Senior Fellow at Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School.

Myriam Sidibe, Siddharth Chatterjee, and Paul Polman join Kenya’s First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, in Nairobi, Kenya at an event; Photo supplied

Op-Ed: How Multilateralism Through Public-Private Partnerships Is Key To Flatten The Curve

President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/04/14/president-trump-putting-a-hold-on-funding-to-the-world-health-organization/#fb6a30f63ee6">announcement</a> that the U.S.—the largest sponsor of the World Health Organization—will halt payments to the body in the midst of a pandemic because of its “mismanagement” of the coronavirus crisis has been slammed by the U.N., global leaders and Bill Gates as “dangerous”. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Trump <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/04/14/president-trump-putting-a-hold-on-funding-to-the-world-health-organization/#4964eb3d63ee">announced</a> he would hold payments in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, while a “review” is carried out to assess what he said was the WHO “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>In response, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-04-14/statement-the-secretary-general-the-world-health-organization" target="_blank">statement</a> that now is “not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus.&#8221;</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose philanthropic Gates Foundation is one of the WHO’s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/partnerships/donors" target="_blank">biggest</a> voluntary donors, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1250292126643941376?s=20" target="_blank">criticised</a> the move as being “as dangerous as its sounds…the world needs WHO now more than ever.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>House speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed Trump “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/41420-0" target="_blank">ignoring warnings</a>” about the pandemic for causing “unnecessary deaths.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>She tweeted: “Now more than ever, we need the truth. And the truth is that Donald Trump dismantled the infrastructure handed to him which was meant to plan for and overcome a pandemic, resulting in unnecessary deaths and economic disaster.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>World leaders have urged Trump to rethink the decision, with China calling for the U.S. to fulfill its obligations, Germany and New Zealand calling for unity, while Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the WHO was not immune from criticism.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds. Their work is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WHO</a> now more than ever.&mdash; Bill Gates (@BillGates) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1250292126643941376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Additional info: Trump’s decision comes as nearly 2 million people to date have contracted the coronavirus, 600,000 of them in the U.S., while 126,000 people have died.



Crucial comment: Guterres added: &#8220;Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences.&#8221;&nbsp;



The Geneva-headquartered body is the part of the U.N. in charge of global public health and has coordinated the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.&nbsp;



Big number: $400 million. That’s how much the U.S. contributed to the WHO budget in 2018-2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52289056" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>. The U.S. makes up about 15% of payments to the WHO and is the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/04/08/which-countries-are-the-biggest-financial-contributors-to-the-world-health-organization-infographic/#57d07d0f494c">largest</a> financial contributor. The WHO is funded through membership payments from its 194 member states, as well as voluntary contributions.



Key background: Trump has threatened to pull out from funding the WHO in recent weeks, despite the U.S. becoming the centre of the global pandemic with the most cases and deaths. Trump accuses the body of being China-centric, declaring a pandemic late, and “opposing travel restrictions to China,” he said on Tuesday. But the WHO has also suggested that the U.S. largely failed to acknowledge the severity of the disease and its potential. The tension between the U.S. and the WHO is just one example of the struggle to implement a global response to the pandemic as individual states grapple with it in their own, unique and sometimes contradictory ways.



Tangent: Donald Trump is not the first U.S. President to defund a U.N. body but this tactic of withholding funds, or withdrawal, has become a hallmark of his administration. The U.S. will cease to be a member of the Paris Climate Agreement this year after Trump formally pulled the U.S. out in 2019, and he has also pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the UN Human Rights Council, among other agreements.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

gettyimages-1218858840-594×594-1

‘Dangerous As It Sounds’: Bill Gates, World Leaders And U.N. Condemn Trump’s Decision To Halt WHO Funding

Africa continues to grip New York and is not likely to let go of its tight hold anytime soon. 2013 was an exciting year of celebration and progress for all things Africa and there is no doubt that this will continue well into 2014 and beyond. It has been impressive to hear policymakers, entrepreneurs and media so willing to talk about Africa in a new and different way, so much so that some commentators are now complaining that they are tired of hearing that ‘Africa is rising’. Some people are never pleased!
It is not just in New York, however—other parts of the East Coast, such as Washington D.C., have also been highlighting African progress. In October, I was honored to moderate a panel on African technology and entrepreneurship hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus at their annual Africa Braintrust event. The Braintrust, hosted by Californian congresswoman Karen Bass, who has been deeply passionate about the relationship between Africa and the United States for many years, also featured the presidents of Somalia and Burkina Faso, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Blaise Campaoré respectively.
The annual United Nations General Assembly was also well attended. British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng appeared with a throng of his celebrity friends including actor Jamie Foxx, Nigerian oil tycoon Kola Aluko, millionaire Tony Elumelu, and a number of key people from the African Development Bank. Boateng introduced his latest non-fashion venture, the Made In Africa Foundation, which aims to lift 200 million Africans out of poverty through infrastructure projects and the new Africa50 Fund. They had the privilege of ringing the NASDAQ stock market opening bell to mark the launch of the fund. Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, also paid a visit to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the closing bell, making history as the first Nigerian to do so.
The African diaspora in New York has been getting a lot more attention from the media lately. One of these is Amini Kajunju who is the president and CEO of the Africa-America Institute. She will be honored in 2014 as the Advocate of the Year. And who can forget that yet again an African—Geoffrey Mutai from Kenya—won the New York City Marathon in an incredible time of 2:08:24. In fact, eight of the top 10 placed athletes were from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Impressive stuff.
Another New Yorker making waves is Derrick Ashong. The television presenter and musician is the first African with his own show on American network TV. He is an anchor of Latino TV channel Fusion’s new show, where he covers politics, cultural events, the day’s big headlines as well as the entertainment and social media trends that matter most to young Hispanics and millennials. Although he is not covering African topics directly, it is important that someone like him represents the continent in this way.
An exciting arrival for 2014 is the New Africa Centre, based in an upscale part of Harlem. The institute is spearheaded by Mo Ibrahim and his daughter Hadeel and aims to showcase the best of African art and intellect. The Ibrahims will be raising up to $60 million to renovate the center and host an art gallery, museum, theater, policy institute and executive club. It is expected to be a magnet for Africans, Afrophiles and investors. Guests at the opening included Bono, Harry Belafonte and the reverend Jesse Jackson, Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren, musicians Youssou N’Dour and Angélique Kidjo and basketball legend Dikembe Mutombo.
“There is no African institute in this city where we can exhibit our art and culture and hold debates about African issues,” says Hadeel, who is to be the co-chair of the new center’s board.
African business continues to thrive with New York private equity groups, such as Blackstone, KKR and Pinebridge Investments, investing in the continent. Such companies believe that there is much more to come in terms of Africa’s growth and development and that there are huge economic opportunities available. This is a good sign, particularly as the Obama administration and other vested parties desire an increase in foreign direct investment.
Here’s to Africa, onwards and upwards!   FL

Tag: UN

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Op-Ed: How Multilateralism Through Public-Private Partnerships Is Key To Flatten The Curve

‘Dangerous As It Sounds’: Bill Gates, World Leaders And U.N. Condemn Trump’s Decision To Halt WHO Funding

Onwards And Upwards In New York