Making a Difference: Corporate Case Studies

There is something rather daunting about taking child survival health issues, especially in environments and cultures that are unlike our own. However, many corporationslarge and smallhave done just that by committing their organizations, services, and people to helping reduce life-threatening diseases such as malaria, night blindness, vitamin deficiency, and HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

There are critical lessons to be learnedincluding what worked and what didn'tfrom these corporate experiences. Following are several case studies on child survival projects taken from leading US corporations. These studies are examples of how one person in an organization had a solution in the form of a product or service and then found ways to reach those that would best benefit from it. All the case studies demonstrate the contributions of a private company to a public health issues and how a public-private partnership can work.

The motivation or rationale why these corporations became engaged in child survival activities is of secondary importance. What is important, is the knowledge that they did something, and what they did made a difference: a difference of life and death. The unspoken lesson is that while this work may not be easy, its impact is immeasurable.

We encourage you to visit these corporations' web sites and find out more about their corporate commitments and responsibility. We would also be pleased to learn about your organization's work in public/private partnerships for child survival, or your questions about how to get involved in this type of effort. Just e-mail the US Coalition for Child Survival at: or call us at: .

Case Studies

Merck & Co., Inc.
The Mectizan Donation Program

GlaxoSmithKline
The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

Colgate-Palmolive
The Central American Hand Washing Initiative

Johnson & Johnson
Healthy Children, Healthy Futures Program

BD
The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health