Public and private sectors search for common ground
9 May 2002, NEW YORK - Leaders from business, government
and civil society met today to discuss better ways of
involving their constituencies in the movement for children's
rights.
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Public-Private Partnership Dialogue brought together
Heads of State and Government, UN officials, and
corporate, foundation and NGO leaders to review
experiences and affirm commitments for children.
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"We all have to draw on each other's strengths
in order to meet our ambitious goals," said Bill
Gates, III, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and Chairman of Microsoft, the global software
giant. "This will take more than money. It will
take expertise. Local companies and organizations must
be asked to participate and contribute their knowledge."
Corporate executives from Bancafe, Cisco Systems, Conrad
Hilton Foundation, Credit Suisse, Procter and Gamble,
WIPRO and the United Nations Foundation dialogued with
representatives from non-governmental organizations,
such as CARE, NetAid, Plan International and Save the
Children, and Heads of State from Finland, Mexico, Peru
and Uganda.
"Limited interventions don't work," said
President Museveni of Uganda. "If you leave at
the end of day without having created sustainable development
programmes, it doesn't matter. And we have to look at
children's development holistically. We cannot just
invest in one life stage, we have to look at how they're
all connected from birth onwards."
Participants reinforced the need to ensure that these
partnerships be 'win-win' situations for everyone involved
and to avoid "simply throwing money at a problem".
Corporate executives said brand creation and enhancement,
not just philanthropy, is a key part of these partnerships
and that must not be forgotten.
The partnership between corporations and non-profits
has been crucial in the effort to combat the global
HIV/AIDS pandemic. Pharmaceutical companies have been
vital partners in the struggle to care for the most
vulnerable AIDS patients. The Global
Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) is
another successful network of public and private actors.
GAVI works to increase the supply of vaccines for children
and helps develop new vaccines against diseases common
in developing countries.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN),
another example of corporate and non-profit partnership,
was launched today. Participants at the dialogue hailed
the launch of GAIN but Michael Aaronson, Director General
of the Save the Children Fund, said, "We must involve
young people and put them at the centre of our work."
Read about the launch of the Global
Alliance for Improved Nutrition.
Key commitments
from the private-public partnership dialogue.
Event report.
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