Companies have played a key role in many global health issues. Many donate money from corporate foundations or add to funds raised by employees. Some have donated large quantities of drugs to developing countries. Increasingly, however, the corporate sector is also offering the skills and expertise of its executives.

“Companies such as Mac, Chevron and Levi-Strauss have given millions of dollars, much of which has come from employees as well as the corporation,” says John Newsome, head of the US HIV Initiative at the Global Business Coalition (GBC) on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. “But beyond that we’re seeing new levels of engagement more broadly.”
“‘There’s an understanding that employees benefit directly and appreciate [a] company’s involvement [in CSR initiatives],” he says. “People like to know their company is doing good – it’s motivating and it drives retention and recruitment.”

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