Private Perspectives

Second Symposium Session

Global Health Ministries’ annual October Symposium continued on October 13 with multiple representatives from the private sector sharing their experiences of how the ground shifted for their organizations during the pandemic, and insights for what this means for public-private partnerships. All three have a couple of things in common with Global Health Ministries: each is Minnesota-grown! And each is engaged in a variety of global health partnerships.

Rob Thames, GHM’s Director of GHAP (Global Health Administration Partners) introduced each speaker, beginning with Beth Simermeyer, Executive Vice President and President, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Ecolab, a global leader in water and hygiene. Partnering to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier is fundamental to who they are, and the area that Beth leads is focused on water management and preventing the spread of infection - both near and dear to our hearts, and clearly impacted by the pandemic.

Beth was followed by Dr. Trevor Gunn, Vice President, International Relations, Medtronic, Inc., a leading medical technology company. Trevor shared some of the challenges Medtronic faced in responding to the pandemic but also celebrated some of the more positive outcomes, despite the severity, and personal toll for many, of the crisis. His comments included remarks about the democratization of medical technology - making medical technology available to all who need it - and the importance of training and education (particularly given the complexity of the technology) to create the human infrastructure that can make good use of that technology.

Dr. Gunn was followed by Mark Guy, Senior Program Officer, GHR Foundation. Mark’s role is focused on children and family initiatives, part of GHR Foundation’s global portfolio of work. Mark commented on the tremendous impact of COVID-19 on children and families around the world, and the challenges for systems that are already stressed, with governments that don’t have resources for a budget that includes child welfare and protection. He stressed the importance of building relationships that can aid in system-strengthening efforts, helping build capacity to withstand shocks like the pandemic because the “connective tissue” is already there. A panel discussion rounded out the hour.

You can access a recording of the full session through this link - this blog can’t do justice to the insights of these three speakers. An earlier blog post shares the recording of the first session in this 3-part Symposium. And the third session, focused on Private Perspectives with interviews with GHM partners in Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania, is live online Wednesday, October 20, from 12 pm - 1 pm CT. If you haven’t already, register to receive the link to access the live program.