BUSINESS AND THE HEALTH MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN INDIA: CLOSING THE GAPS RESULTS FROM A SURVEY OF LEADING COMPANIES ON HEALTH CSR IN INDIA We are grateful to Johnson & Johnson for funding support to develop this publication. GBCHealth is a coalition of companies committed to investing their resources to make a healthier world for their employees, for the communities in which they work and for the world at large. Through convenings, partnership creation, alliance-building and advocacy activities, GBCHealth leverages the power and resources of the private sector to meet today’s most pressing global health challenges. For more information, contact Shuma Panse at [email protected]. MDG Health Alliance is a special initiative of the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs and for Malaria. The Alliance works in partnership with governments, non-government organizations, academic institutions and corporations to develop innovative and accelerative efforts to drive progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. ii Health CSR in India Survey FOREWORD The 2013 Companies Act is an unprecedented offices/operations. This bodes well for the social opportunity for India’s vibrant business sector to play development of those states, districts and cities with a heightened role in the country’s social development strong commercial activity, but it leaves other parts of through corporate social responsibility (CSR) the nation underserved and vulnerable. We hope the leadership. With an estimated 9,000-16,000 companies insights revealed, and the practical guidance provided, predicted to bring USD $2 billion in funding into the prompt companies to shape future investments in ways social sector as a result of this law, the potential to that boost health impact – both for the community and drive change is real, and exciting. also for the nation. For over a decade, GBCHealth has mobilized business Importantly this report documents evidence of the action on health, recognizing that the private sector scope and depth of corporate action on health in can contribute valuable assets – both financial India, and can serve as a foundation for sector-specific and otherwise – to improve the well-being of men, reporting moving forward. We have also included a women and children around the world. The 200-plus number of resources for action to help companies companies in our diverse network have demonstrated identify issues, locations and learn from like-minded both ability and resolve to fight diseases like HIV, TB corporates as they develop their own CSR programs. and malaria and to promote maternal and child health. Our “health CSR activity mapping” presents survey Often working in partnership with the public sector respondent activity by topic and geography; this and civil society, these companies are increasingly mapping is intended to foster collaboration between aligning their efforts to help meet international and companies and with partners, based on mutual interest national targets and goals, to maximize impact. in a particular health area or state/district/city. I encourage you to take a look at these resources and With corporate investments expected to rise welcome your feedback. dramatically, this report seeks to inform our collective understanding of the Indian CSR ecosystem and its We are delighted to partner once again with the impact specifically on improving health outcomes. MDGHealth Alliance to research and produce this In conducting our research, we focused on one report. We would also like to acknowledge our robust important international target with a fast approaching Advisory Committee for providing insights, data and deadline: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). connections throughout this project. Together, we look By shedding light on the key characteristics (e.g. forward to partnering with India’s corporate sector to focus areas, target geographies and drivers) of existing realize the vision of a healthier India for all. health CSR programs, this report offers insights into how Indian businesses are currently supporting MDG Nancy Wildfeir-Field achievement and identifies gap areas that require President, GBCHealth urgent attention. Maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, and water and sanitation all feature highly as CSR priorities for the companies we surveyed. Investments are greatest in the areas surrounding a company’s Health CSR in India Survey iii With less than 350 days to achieve the Millennium on the degree to which India’s thriving business Development Goals (MDGs), the world is focused community engages and focuses its investments where on India, the country where national progress will they will have the greatest impact. contribute significantly to the achievement of global development goals. We are delighted to present this report which documents the current health-investment activities of India has made significant strides across several MDGs, a number of leading Indian companies, shining a light halving the proportion of the population in poverty onto gaps in current strategy and opportunities for (MDG 1a), achieving universal primary education (MDG better alignment with the MDG goals. We hope that 2), coming very close to ensuring that girls have equal businesses in India takes note of the findings of the access to primary and secondary education (MDG report and reassesses their investment strategies—both 3), halving the proportion of the population without the type and location of investments—to increase access to safe drinking water (MDG 7c) and reversing MDG impact. the spread of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria (MDG 6). The next 12 months is a period of great opportunity But in five critical areas of MDG performance, India’s for business to contribute to a rapid acceleration of progress has not been fast enough to achieve the progress in the health of women and children and in goals—reducing hunger (MDG 1b), reducing newborn sanitation in India. The critical factor is ensuring that and child deaths (MDG 4), reducing the deaths of new investments are targeted to fight the leading women in pregnancy and childbirth (MDG 5a), meeting causes of sickness and death in the regions where the unmet need for modern contraception (MDG 5b), and deaths and sanitation challenges are concentrated. increasing access to toilets (MDG 7c). If business rises to this challenge and works in partnership with all stakeholders, India can achieve all As a result, 60 million children under five are stunted of the health-related MDGs by December 2015. and 1.3 million die before they reach their fifth birthdays. More than half die in the first month of In generations to come, no other nation’s children will life and most from preventable infections including shape the world as will the children of India. Let’s work pneumonia and diarrhea. An estimated 50,000 together to make sure that all children in India can women lose their lives to pregnancy and childbirth. fulfill their true potentials at home and in the world. The unmet need for modern contraception is high, leaving 50 million women without access. Six hundred Leith Greenslade million Indians practice open defecation, severely Vice-Chair, MDG Health Alliance compromising the health and development of children. Most of these health challenges are concentrated in specific northern States including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan which together account for 60 percent of all child deaths. In addition, clusters of child deaths occur across specific districts in Chhattisgarh and Orissa and also in wealthier States including Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Government of India is leading a national effort to close these MDG achievement gaps in partnership with the United Nations and the UN Secretary- General’s Every Woman Every Child movement. With new initiatives including the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health + Adolescent Strategy, the National Newborn Action Plan and the Ending Open Defecation Campaign, and with a special focus on the districts where mortality is concentrated, the Government of India is positioning the nation for success. Business too must play its part in the national effort to accelerate the rate of progress to the levels required for MDG achievement. Indeed success will depend iv Health CSR in India Survey 2014 India’s Health CSR Investments Survey v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Companies are increasing spending on corporate KEY FINDINGS social responsibility (CSR) programs in India spurred on by new government legislation (the Our results provide an informative snapshot of Companies Act, 2013) that requires them to how surveyed companies are currently investing invest two percent of profits in CSR activities; their CSR rupees, including priority health focus by a growing recognition of the benefits to areas, preferred partnership strategies, major communities, stakeholders and the bottom line; drivers of health CSR priorities, investment and in response to the Government of India’s models, geographic reach and location of development agenda. investments, number of beneficiaries and future investment priorities in the health area. We In the area of health, the Indian government found that: has outlined national priorities, such as the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health + • Surveyed companies are currently focusing Adolescent (RMNCH+A) strategy and the newly- investments on the health issues prioritized launched Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP). by the Government of India