Business and Africa's humanitarian challenges
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| Aids reseachers at work in Nairobi |
Paris, 13 November 2001 - The business response to conflict and deprivation in much of Africa will be the theme of a conference next month called by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Business-Humanitarian Forum.
How conflict areas can be stabilized, the role of business in mitigating outbreaks of violence, business cooperation with refugee organizations, business investment in post-conflict reconstruction, business involvement in health care, and the challenge of HIV/AIDS are among subjects for the one-day conference in Paris on 6 December.
Business speakers will include executives from such multinational corporations as Aventis, Coca-Cola, DeBeers, Nestlé, Pfizer, and Shell, as well as representatives from the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ibrahim A. Gambari, UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Africa, heads the list of speakers from the United Nations. UN agencies represented include the UN High Commission for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
A session on refugees and reconstruction asks these questions: How can business work with refugee organizations to assist in resolving refugee problems? What resources of investments make sense for business in doing so? How can post-conflict areas be rebuilt and normalized? What role is there for business investment in this phase of the post-conflict period?
The conference, entitled Building Cooperation in Africa - Business investment and humanitarian challenges, will examine the role of business in collaborating with humanitarian organizations to bring about improvements in the fight against disease, malnutrition and poor sanitation.
On the specific problem of HIV/AIDs, a special session will discuss what business and humanitarian organizations can learn from each other in their various healthcare efforts.
ICC's partner in staging the conference, the Business Humanitarian Forum, is an international non-profit association dedicated to improving understanding and cooperation between the business sector and humanitarian organizations.
Click here for full conference programme and registration details.
The Business Humanitarian Forum