The World Economic Forum supports a range of global partnerships in health, particularly in helping to bring the private sector to the table.

Private Sector Contributions

There are several key areas in which the private sector has contributed and can continue to contribute to global health partnerships. Specifically, the private sector can be seen as:

• A contributor of financial and other resources to support partnership processes, working groups and health programmes• An expert in advocacy and marketing, supporting partnerships in finding effective ways to create and spread advocacy messages from the global to the local level
• An implementer of health programmes for employees, families and communities
• An expert in business practices and corporate management skills – such as project management, delivery of products, provision of services to remote areas – bringing good business practice and an emphasis on results to partnership processes and working groups
• A producer and supplier of products and commodities
• An innovator, involved in the development of new tools to fight diseases

PPPs in Health

The World Economic Forum has developed a report highlighting the role of the private sector in health PPPs, entitled "Public-Private Partnerships in Health: The Private Sector's Role in Public-Private Partnerships". -
Executive Summary (PDF) - Full Report (PDF)

The World Economic Forum also recently contributed to a UNAIDS publication on HIV-related Public-Private Partnerships and Health Systems Strengthening. Click here to access the publication.

Video
Booz Allen Hamilton Senior Vice President Reggie Van Lee discusses Booz Allen's involvement with the Global Health Initiative and the importance of public-private partnerships.

The Role of the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum focuses its involvement in these global health partnerships on four areas:

1. Bringing policy and strategy expertise to any discussions linked to the conceptualising, launching, managing and evaluation of public-private partnerships
2. Sharing expertise on the set-up and management of disease control programmes for employers
3. Supporting efforts on global and regional advocacy
4. Acting as a “neutral platform” for discussions between partnerships and the private sector, and between companies within the private sector – in its roles of innovator, producer and supplier of products – where a potential conflict of interest may exist

In particular, the World Economic Forum has been working closely with:

Stop TB Partnership

The Stop TB Partnership was established in 2000 to realize the goal of eliminating tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain a world free of TB. It comprises a network of more than 500 international, governmental, non-governmental and private sector organizations and individuals that have expressed an interest in working together to achieve this goal. The Partnership represents a global movement to accelerate social and political actions to stop the spread of TB around the world.

The Coordinating Board of the Stop TB Partnership is a multistakeholder group of representatives that provides leadership and direction, monitors the implementation of agreed policies, plans the activities of the Partnership and ensures coordination among Stop TB Partnership components.
The secretariat of the Stop TB Partnership, hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva, offers administration, operational, implementation and strategic support to the Partners in pursuit of the achievement of partnership goals and objectives.

The Stop TB Partnership Private Sector Constituency is broadly defined as the community of businesses with a recognized role or interest in TB control. The private sector has been represented on the Coordinating Board of the Global Stop TB Partnership by a Board and an Alternate member since October 2004, following a proposal by the Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum, which has helped, along with partners like the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GBC), to coordinate private sector involvement in the Stop TB Partnership. The Board members represent the members of the broader private sector constituency that are engaged in the Stop TB Partnership, its Working Groups and sub-committees and those who are actively contributing to TB control in any part of the world. You can find more information here.

Roll Back Malaria Partnership

The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership was established in 1998 to provide a coordinated global approach to fighting malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank were the founding members of the partnership.

The RBM partnership has expanded exponentially since its launch and now comprises a wider range of partners- including malaria-endemic countries, their bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, non-governmental and community-based organizations, foundations, and research and academic institutions – who bring a formidable assembly of expertise, infrastructure and funds to the fight against the disease.

The vision set by the RBM Partnership and outlined in the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) is for a substantial and sustained reduction in the burden of malaria in the near and mid term, and the eventual eradication of malaria in the long term, when new tools make eradication possible. Some of the key milestones towards the realization of this vision are:

• To achieve and sustain universal coverage for all populations at risk with locally appropriate interventions for prevention and case management
• To reduce global malaria cases from 2000 levels by 50% in 2010, and by 75% in 2015
• To reduce global malaria deaths from 2000 levels by 50% in 2010, and to near zero preventable deaths in 2015
The complete GMAP can be accessed here.

The private corporate sector holds two seats on the RBM Coordinating Board, with two alternates. In addition to these formal roles, several company representatives also participate in the various Working Groups and committees of the Partnership. The activities and engagement of the Private Sector Constituency are outlined in the Private Sector Constituency newsletter.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the main source of finance for programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 15.6 billion for more than 572 programs in 140 countries. It provides a quarter of all international financing for AIDS globally, two-thirds for tuberculosis and three quarters for malaria.

The Forum is a permanent member of the private sector delegation to the Coordinating Board of the Global Fund. For more information on the private sector in the Global Fund, please visit the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.