Covid-19 and Creating the Future We Want
As the world comes to terms with a global pandemic that has threatened and turned upside-down the lives and livelihoods of people across the globe, it is clear we are living in extraordinary times. Many people will be feeling uncertain, anxious and even scared. And of course, for others things have already reached crisis point. Like […]
Covid-19 and the Voluntary Sector
Businesses and the self-employed have received significant financial support from the UK Government during the Covid-19 crisis, and the debts of NHS hospital trusts have been wiped out. Many voluntary organisations and community groups are under pressure too, facing reduced income at just the time when demand for their services has risen hugely. Should voluntary […]
UNIDO Helps Tajik Textile Enterprises Diversify into PPE Production
To further help avoid a health crisis, some national textile enterprises are diversifying production to include medical masks and gowns. The move will provide much-needed supplies of protective equipment to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Tajikistan. Two enterprises making this move, Guldaston and Suman, have received assistance from the United Nations Industrial Development […]
The Business and COVID-19 Action Mapping Tool is Now Live
Over the last few weeks, it has become clear that we are facing the worst humanitarian and economic crisis of our generation. In these troubling times, it has been heartening to see multinational corporations across the world urgently mobilising to support the most vulnerable. At Business Fights Poverty, we have been directing all our energy […]
Vulnerable Workers in Global Value Chains – Ambitious Collaboration Needed
Global brands and large companies acted swiftly to stabilise cash flow and protect their staff in developed countries. Attention in the next part of the ‘respond and stabilise’ phase needs to shift rapidly and ambitiously to workers throughout the value chain. Damage has already been done, but much can still be done to mitigate the […]
How Can Business Respond to the Increase in Domestic Violence During COVID-19?
There is a 30% increase in reported cases in France and a 25% increase in calls to emergency lines in Spain. In the UK, the charity Refuge reported a 700% increase in calls to its web helpline over a 24 hour period. The pandemic is also likely to increase the amount of online harassment and abuse […]
How Start-Ups are Helping to Fight COVID-19? An Emerging Market View: Kerala
Social distancing has been the buzz-word of COVID-19 response globally. But how do you #BreakTheChain of contact in public spaces like airports or bus stations? Kerala start-up, Asimov Robotics has deployed robots at entrances of office buildings and other public places to dispense hand sanitizers and for delivering public awareness messages on precautionary measures to […]
Practical Steps Large Companies Can Take to Support their MSME Partners through the COVID-19 Crisis
As MSMEs struggle, the impact on their communities is also significant as they are often the only source of goods and key services for the most poor and vulnerable populations. For large companies, who rely on MSMEs in their value chains as suppliers (including small-scale farmers), distributors, retailers and customers, beyond the immediate humanitarian imperative, supporting […]
UN SG Launches Road Map to Address COVID-19
Alongside this, the Secretary General has established the United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support low- and middle-income countries in the face of the pandemic. All businesses have a crucial role to play in supporting the global response. “The world is facing an unprecedented test. And this is the moment of truth. … […]
How Can Businesses Support their NGO Partners Through the Impact of COVID-19?
Many NGOs are facing multiple operational and business continuity threats from the COVID-19 crisis and the efforts to contain it. A new Action Toolkit has been developed following a recent Business Fights Poverty online discussion to explore how business should respond: what factors should they consider, and what actions can they take to support their […]
COVID-19: Delivering Critical Information and Behaviour Change at Scale
Endcornavirus.africa and endcornavirus.co.ke are interactive one-stop-shops for COVID-19 prevention and management information in English for users across Africa using WHO guidelines, with the first language localised site in kiswahili for Kenya. Abi Gleek, Our Director of Digital Strategy, will be presenting the sites at the online ICT4D Conference in a session called ICT for COVID-19 Response: […]
Working and Learning Online During a Pandemic
According to UNESCO’s latest statistics, >91% of the world’s students are impacted by school closures; that’s more than 1.57 Billion learners in more than 192 countries who are out of school! In this uncertain environment we’re facing during the COVID19 pandemic, it’s important that learning continues, even if it can’t happen in person. Pearson, the […]
COVID-19 is a Chance to Invest in Our Essential Infrastructure Workforce
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps millions of people home and many businesses shuttered for social distancing, up to 62 million essential workers are still reporting to their jobs in hospitals, grocery stores, and other critical industries. They are on the frontlines against the coronavirus, vital to our public health and economic survival. Of them, the 17 […]
Business Collaboration to Fight COVID-19 in Kenya
Kenya reported its first case of COVID-19 on March 16. That same day, private companies, the government of Kenya, members of the UN family, and civil society organizations came together to form a National Business Compact, a platform for collaboration for all of the stakeholders to coordinate and collaborate on tackling the outbreak. It was […]
Launching the Business and COVID-19 Response Centre
Today, we should have been coming together in Washington for Business Fights Poverty DC 2020. If you have ever been to one of our flagship events, in Oxford or in New York, you will have heard me talk about the power of purpose and the importance of collaboration. Purpose can enable us to become the […]
Don’t Allow the Coronavirus to Open Up Another Front
WHO has called for a “whole of government, whole of society” approach to combatting the pandemic. Beating COVID-19 requires more than just a health system response; it involves every person, everywhere, and every sector. We are all in this together. Food is our most basic need, and we must defend our food systems and the […]
Shaping a New Social Contract Through the Pandemic
In the midst of our COVID-19 pandemic, there are rising calls for government and business to form a ‘new social contract’. This would tackle the immediate economic hardship, and more fairly share the burdens and benefits from our economies. This comes from actors as diverse as the International Trade Union Congress and the Financial Times. In contrast, too […]
In the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic: Do Non-Profits need to Rethink Sustainability?
‘Sustainability’ for Non-Profits For at least two decades, the term ‘sustainability’ has been at the centre of discussion about non-profits. While people fairly quickly accept the notion that non-profits, or NGOs, should be sustainable, there’s often little analysis of what the term means. Should non-profit finances be sustainable? This is what people usually refer to: the glorious […]
Why We Need Social Intrapreneurs More than Ever During COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis illustrates the need for innovation from within companies by “social intrapreneurs.” A new report from the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Yunus Social Business and Porticus presents best practices from these employees who are working to address environmental or social problems. Beyond providing societal benefits, corporate social intrapreneurship motivates employees, increases innovation and incites […]
An Old Movie For Our Times
The first op-ed I ever published, with The Chicago Tribune, applied Albert Camus’ The Plague to corporate scandals in the early 90s. Later I watched the film version of the novel and showed it to several of my ethics classes. Frankly, I had not considered it as something for this series of the Cultural Foundations […]