Issue 2: Global Health and the role of Business

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The last couple of months have been very exciting for the International team at Business in the Community. In September we showcased the new CSR360 Global Partner Network and ENGAGEyouremployees.org websites. ENGAGE is the international employee community engagement programme which is enabled through the network. Both websites have created a sense of unity and have increased connectivity with our widely spread partners. Partners have begun to promote their events, share their good news and discuss the latest trends in Corporate Social Responsibility.

The most memorable experience for me though was to meet a remarkable group of CSR360 partners in person and the ensuing realisation of the amount of enthusiasm and conviction these individuals from every corner of the world have for the promotion of CSR. Nineteen partners representing countries from Western and Eastern Europe, South America, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East gathered in London towards the end of September. They met to discuss the findings from the WHO’s Commission on social determinants of health.

The Social Determinants of Health Commission focussed on the wider social and economic causes of poor health and health inequalities both between and within countries. The final report from the commission, ‘Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health’ was published in August. Business in the Community has embarked in a three-year work programme with the UK’s Department of Health on engaging business to act on the report’s findings.

Linking into this exciting work, this month’s magazine features an interview with Dr Fiona Adshead, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, who presented at the partner gathering. There is also an article written by my colleague at Business in the Community, Gemma Gosling on BITC’s involvement with the social inequalities of health report. The third piece was sent in by Roberto F. Salazar from Hexagon, a consultancy in Ecuador who is also the President of our partner there, S2M Foundation. In his article, he lays out the positive six steps to health reform. And finally, we have our regular feature, ‘David’s Blog’ which fills you in on his recent activities, including meeting partners and companies, not to mention his meals!