Derek Yach, PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President, Global Health Policy and Jeffrey L. Sturchio, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, co-authored an article in The Huffington Post yesterday called Using Business Skills to Solve Social Ills. They write about the important role multi-sectoral partnerships play in achieving the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals and state their belief that “the role of the private sector, too often overlooked in international development, is critical — even indispensable — to speeding up progress on the MDGs. Some companies are already engaged, but many more can and will join the MDG effort. By aligning their business objectives and social investments with the MDG targets, corporations large and small can help move millions out of poverty.” See the complete blog post at the Huffington Post. Read more

For 35 years, the Global Health Council has focused on critical needs in health and has often raised the clarion call for emerging public health challenges. These have included AIDS, children’s health, reproductive rights of women, and the spread of infectious diseases. This year, progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was the central theme and I participated in the opening plenary along with Tessa Wadlow from UNICEF, Ambassador Wegger Strommen from Norway, Minister of Health Kakooza from Uganda, and Sering Falu Njie from the UN Millennium Campaign. With 5 years to go before the MDG goals, set in 1990, need to be achieved, there was strong evidence of progress on several global health goals. Progress includes improved access to water, declines in under nutrition, sharp increases in vaccine coverage, and greater access to malaria bed nets. However, the attainment of these goals remains uneven with... Read more