The Novartis Foundation’s work with AIDS orphans in Africa profiled in new business ethics book

The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development’s (NFSD) work with AIDS orphans in Africa is highlighted in a recently published ethics book called The Global Corporation: Sustainable, Effective and Ethical Practices. The book, written by renowned experts in business ethics, showcases best practices in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and will illustrate to new audiences how Novartis is tackling social problems through creative partnerships.

Responding to unmet need
The carefully chosen cases for the book  serve to “guide future leaders’ understanding of the important roles that businesses can—and need to—play in society today and into the future," according to Sandra Waddock, Galligan Chair of Strategy, Professor of Management, Boston College.

The Novartis case study focuses on the Foundation’s Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), which began as a pilot program in a single district in Tanzania and has expanded – with the help of other funders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – to 13 sub-Saharan African countries.

The program is aimed at addressing the need for psychosocial support for children in Africa who lose their parents or guardians to AIDS. With millions of African children losing one or both parents to AIDS, many face deep psychosocial trauma and are left vulnerable to homelessness, exploitation, abuse, starvation and other dangers. Immense need exists to help these children become resilient enough to cope and move forward in life, and for more than a decade Novartis has made efforts to help meet this need.

The initiative has advanced the NFSD’s reputation with United Nations organizations and other NGOs, and REPSSI’s inclusion in this new book confirms that Novartis and its Foundation’s ability to create significant social value by acting as a good corporate citizen is catching the attention of business ethics experts.

Best practices: Transferring knowledge and skills
The case study  details the unmet need of AIDS orphans, the origins of the NFSD, its partnership approaches as well as the genesis of REPSSI. Given the success of the Tanzania pilot program, there was an idea around a collective approach for transferring knowledge and experience to other countries facing similar problems. This idea became REPSSI, which was founded by NFSD in 2002 with additional support by Swiss and Swedish development agencies to design sustainable programs to help AIDS orphans.  According to the NFSD’s Karin Schmitt, “focusing first on a pilot program and then applying its lessons learned to gain additional partners and foster a regional initiative provides a helpful example of how a corporate foundation can leverage a modest investment to make a huge difference.”

REPSSI leveraged the assets and skills of the NFSD as well as financial and non-cash resources – especially skill transfers from within the Novartis company – to build the capacity of a regional NGO. Novartis passed on skills through its human resource organization as well as the leadership of Novartis South Africa, which became active in coaching, training and providing consultative support.

Business acumen and effective partnerships ensure sustainable impact
A critical success factor in this initiative involved creating a strong and effective organizational operation, and that is what the NFSD did so well; for example, by involving Novartis South Africa’s auditing partner, REPSSI realized significant savings – such as cutting audit costs by 30 percent – along with meaningful enhancements in managerial capacity. In addition, REPSSI has collaborated with more than 140 aid organizations to train partner groups and simultaneously ensure technical cooperation and co-financing with other donors while also supporting small-scale projects that promote self-help.

The REPSSI program is ongoing, with the NFSD having contributed more than USD 1.4 million in direct funding support to date.  Because its efforts go beyond merely providing funds, the NFSD is widely viewed as a leader in developing pioneering programs that break new ground to create effective solutions. REPSSI has set a goal to reach five million orphans by 2010. To learn more about the REPSSI initiative and other NFSD projects, please visit www.NovartisFoundation.org.