Exploring the power of public-private partnerships to advance health equity

During my conversations and collaborations with corporate leaders across the globe, I am continually reminded at the tremendous influence the private sector has on public health and well-being.

The private sector’s role in improving health continues to emerge and is a central theme in addressing healthcare challenges. In fact, according to The Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, workers view their employer as the most trusted of any institution, at 77%, and expect chief executive officers (CEOs) to be the “face of change.”

This notion has crystalized for me as CEOs continue to demonstrate a steadfast commitment to improving the physical and mental well-being of their employees, family members and communities.

For example, 2,500 global leaders and industry experts gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum in May. United around the theme, History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies, attendees shared insights on the most pressing challenges of our time including lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, health inequity, climate change and more. ?

In my role as co-chairman of the WEF Global Health Equity Network, I had a front row seat to discussions about the potential of public-private partnerships to build new, sustainable systems that underpin the future of global health and ensure equitable access to quality care for all people.

Pictured left to right during the Sustainable Development Impact Summit panel—Mobilizing Action on Health Equity: Nancy Brown, American Heart Association CEO; Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO; Asif Saleh, Executive Director, BRAC; Dr. Ryan Noach, Discovery Health CEO.

Deloitte is an example of this. With 90,000 employees stationed in India, Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO, said the organization collaborated with the Government of Haryana State, the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS-Haryana) to ease the crush of COVID-19 patients on the hospital system. Together, they created a program comprising an integrated command center, a virtual telehealth network, tiered medical infrastructure, outreach/education and a playbook to be used in other communities.

?“The model was highly successful as it helped build infrastructure around the delivery process of health care during COVID-19 and was replicable and scalable to other communities. In fact, the very same integrated model is now being used to address gaps in primary health care.”

Having a sense of purpose is central and “begins with trying to change behavior to affect the social and lifestyle determinants of health,” said Dr. Ryan Noach, CEO, Discovery Health.

Noach underscored that the societal dividend is a healthier population, while the company dividend is fewer insurance claims, yielding greater surplus to reinvest in advancing workplace health.

During this year’s World Economic Forum Global Health Equity Network strategy session, Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO, Deloitte U.S. said, “To create a healthier and more inclusive world, we must convene leaders across the public and private sectors to shape the future of health equity.” (Image courtesy World Economic Forum)

Dialogue on this front has continued with the American Heart Association’s CEO Roundtable, a leadership collaborative exclusively dedicated to improving employee and community health, recently convened in New York (pictured below) to discuss burning issues related to employee health.?

Supporting physical and mental health for employees and their families, and enacting changes to shape the future of health care are key priorities for CEO Roundtable members and the collective private sector.

Given the extreme toll the pandemic had on employees’ physical and mental health, members doubled down on delivering affordable health care where and when employees need it most.

Leaning into employee health was also a major theme at this year’s FORTUNE Brainstorm Health where leading with empathy and prioritizing employee well-being were major underpinnings of the conversation.

Northwell Direct CEO Nick Stefanizzi (pictured at right) said, "I think the employers of choice going forward are going to be those that are making the investments in health, well-being, and the resiliency of their workforce."

According to?the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 90% of the $3.8 trillion in U.S. health care spending is for people with chronic physical and mental health conditions.

Health care industry leaders are shifting from a focus on reactive treatment to proactive prevention by taking an upstream approach, and helping people avoid disease in the first place.

Many stress-related diseases also can be better mitigated — or even prevented — with early detection and intervention, and employers are well positioned to take proactive measures to support their employees.

Seventy-six percent of U.S. employees struggle with issues like stress that affect their mental health, according to a national survey conducted by Harris Poll for the American Heart Association’s CEO Roundtable.

On the heels of World Mental Health Day last October 10, the AHA launched It’s my time — a year-round campaign to help individuals, communities and workplaces reduce chronic stress for better well-being with resources available at? heart.org/stress.

I am optimistic that with the influence of our private sector leaders, we can realize meaningful, sustainable change to improve health outcomes and ensure health equity around the globe.