I am writing this from the UK, where the clocks have just gone back and we are heading with no small amount of trepidation into winter. However, at Business Fights Poverty the mood is one of new beginnings, as we publish two Action Toolkits, launch a new Challenge with a Virtual Summit on Health, and learn new insights from across our network.
New Action Toolkit: Building Back Better with Jobs
We’re also celebrating the release of two new Action Toolkits in our Business and COVID-19 Response Centre :
The ILO predicts that COVID-19 will cause massive damage to the livelihoods of 1.6 billion informal economy workers, as well as the loss of the equivalent of 305 million full-time jobs.
Our guide – produced with support from The Lab Project at the International Labour Organization – demonstrates how improving job security, equality, health and wellbeing is compatible with business competitiveness, growth and profitability.
The Toolkit provides a framework to help companies evaluate and enhance the quality of jobs within their own organisations. Case studies from leading companies including Hermes, Anglo American and Unilever illustrate how the principles can be put into practice.
The pandemic has required organisations of all types to respond to an unprecedented societal crisis, in a climate of fear, uncertainty, pressure and exponential change.
In our new Guide to Effective Planning, British Army Major Nick Barton draws from his expertise in military crisis response to provide a structure for organisational planning, particularly in response to emergencies.
The Guide provides a ten-point process that compliments the Business Fights Poverty COVID-19 Response Framework and the Rebuild Better Framework .
Business Fights Poverty’s Director of Thought Leadership, Katie Hyson, explains the role of the Guide:
“Where the Frameworks support organisations in their decision-making, this guide helps plan out what to do, how, where and when. Delivered with bite-sized learning points, key outputs and background references for further detail, it will help anyone, regardless of their previous experience or business role, to plan better.”
New Challenge: How Can Self-Care Help Health Systems Rebuild Better During COVID-19?
We are also thrilled to have launched a new challenge with Bayer . This collaborative project will explore how increasing the uptake of self-care approaches could improve health outcomes for vulnerable people and reduce pressure on healthcare systems whilst empowering individuals and communities in the process.
COVID-19 has put immense strain on global healthcare systems, and highlighted their weaknesses and inequalities. Even before the pandemic, the World Health Organisation estimated that half the world’s population did not have access to basic healthcare services, and called for a greater emphasis on strengthening the ability of individuals, families and communities to stay healthy and to cope better with illness, long-term healthcare conditions, pregnancy and disability. Self-care is not an alternative to strong healthcare systems, but is an integral part of them.
We kicked off the Challenge with our first ever one-day Virtual Summit on the subject of Health. You cancatch up on the event for free, including:
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- A welcome from our Co-Founders, Zahid and Yvette Torres-Rahman
- A musical performance by Professional Musician and Singer Songwriter Cat Taylor-Dawson
- The full recording of a fireside chat between Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever and Myriam Sidibé, Founder, Brands on a Mission , and Chair and Co-Founder, National Business Compact on Coronavirus (NBCC), Kenya
- Highlights of our webinar on Ensuring Hand Hygiene for All, hosted with Brands on a Mission
- Read the full online discussion which accompanied our workshop on How can self-care help health systems rebuild better during COVID-19?, hosted with Bayer
In addition, you can purchase a digital pass to access the full webinar recording, as well as concise written summaries of both the webinar and the workshop.
New Insights and Inspiration from Our Network
Our work to inspire and equip partnerships to rebuild better is only possible because of the commitment of people across our network to share their experiences and insights, so that we can all benefit from them. Thisfortnight, we’ve been privileged to hear from:
- Chris Anderson, Practical Action, and David Nash, Z Zurich Foundation, who have shared their insights into partnering on the Zurich Floods Resilience Programme in our Spotlight Podcast.Expect practical tips on making collaboration work, ideas on deepening impact, and leading-edge thinking on emerging trends that will affect our ability to end poverty.
- Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Founder and CEO of LifeBank, a medical company that uses data, technology and smart logistics to deliver blood and oxygen to hospitals. Temie explains how LifeBank is saving the lives of the rich and the urban poor through a ‘cross-subsidisation’ business model that is both inclusive and financially sustainable.
- CDC have provided insights from their recent event, ‘ Building the recovery: What is the role of impact investing?’ , and make the case that impact investing could be our most important tool for a sustainable recovery .
In closing, I would like to highlight the words of Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, in his fireside chat with Myriam Sidibé at our Virtual Summit on Health:
‘ I don’t think there has ever been a moment where it’s clearer that the multistakeholder model has to be the way forward for business…. I think that more and more companies are understanding that responsible and sustainable business is a pathway to better financial performance .’
At Business Fights Poverty, we couldn’t agree more. Please do download our new Toolkits and get in touch with us to share updates on your own initiatives to Rebuild Better.
