Solid Partnerships Lead to Global Development Opportunities
In the past two weeks, I have described examples of the private sector, in partnership with public and nonprofit sectors, working together to address challenges in global development.
Last week, I gave a specific example of how Project HOPE has been able to maximize these relationships in times of international and domestic natural disasters. The successful partnership between the U.S. Navy, Project HOPE, corporate partners and others responded to the urgent need for health care, medicines and supplies immediately following the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. The strong partnership also helped lay the ground work for long-term health care development in the impacted regions, following those disasters.
Since 2005, the partnership has expanded to include humanitarian assistance and health education to people in need around the world. Project HOPE has participated in 11 missions with the U.S. Navy to date, in Southeast Asia, Latin America and West Africa.
Last year, when we first sent volunteers to West Africa with the Navy, we did so with the support of ExxonMobil.
Gerald W. McElvy, President of the ExxonMobil Foundation, shared word that his foundation was pleased to join with the U.S. Navy and Project HOPE to help bring much needed medical services and supplies to West Africa. “ExxonMobil is one of Africa's largest investors and we have a major stake in the development and well-being of the continent,” he said. “We are aware of the development challenges the continent presents and recognize we can play a positive role to address critical needs. The mission to West Africa is an excellent example of an effective partnership to help address some of the serious health care challenges in Africa."
To date, the U.S. Navy, Project HOPE and our long-time corporate partners have provided humanitarian assistance and health education in 27 countries. We have sent nearly 700 Project HOPE medical volunteers, who along with their Navy counterparts, have treated more than 300,000 people, provided health education to 66,000 and delivered more than $31 million in medicines and medical supplies.
And as I write this blog post, HOPE is preparing to send another 120 volunteers aboard the USNS Comfort on a four-month mission to Latin America – our twelfth mission with the Navy and one more than that of the original SS HOPE.
As the International Collaboration for Global Development meeting in Brussels gets underway next week, I hope I have given you at least one example of how to bring together the private sector, in partnership with public and nonprofit sectors, to effectively and efficiently contribute to addressing global development challenges in today’s world.
John P. Howe, III, M.D. is President and Chief Executive Officer of Project HOPE.
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