4 August, 2023: UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) recognizes the grave impact that unclean businesses have on the company and every stakeholder associated with it. Keeping this in mind,
United Nations Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) organized A national conclave on Good Governance in Healthcare for Global Welfare in collaboration with Pratisanshi Balamandira Trust and the Sri Madhusudan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Medical College). The event was guided by the theme of Promoting Good Governance, Transparency, and Ethical Practices in the Healthcare Ecosystem.
Three events were conducted to encourage and engage healthcare professionals and service providers in UN GCNI’s fight against corruption in the healthcare sector.
The first event, i.e., the Inaugural session was inaugurated by Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Chairperson, Prashanthi Balamandira Trust and Founder, Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research ( Medical College). He welcomed and expressed gratitude to the other eminent healthcare leaders sitting on the dais – the Chancellor of the University, Srinath Sivamurthy, the Director of our hospitals, Dr. Srinivas, Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital, the Director of the Medical College, Dr. Raghupati Mr. Ratnesh Jha, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network India and Dr. Somnath Singh, Deputy Director and Head Anti-Corruption and Governance at UN Global Compact Network India.
In his address, he encouraged healthcare providers and practitioners to ensure ethical practices in their work/businesses and join hands with UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) to bring positive changes in unethical practices and eradicate corruption across the healthcare ecosystem.
The second event, i.e., the panel discussion was inaugurated with an introduction and address by panellist “Dr. K Madan Gopal, from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare”. He emphasized “From the perspective of Public Health Institutions’ and said that there should be community-level participation to enhance the work of public institutions. Govt has upgraded its Health and Wellness Centres and also involved Panchayats in its healthcare initiatives so that the people can watch how the institution is functioning. He encouraged the UN GCNI to focus on integrating the Anti-Corruption Collective Action (AC CA) strategy in Government national health initiatives like PMJAY, NDHM and Digital Health, Public Health and Management, and One Health. In addition, he also encouraged healthcare professionals and corporates to join hands with UN GCNI and support them in doing policy advocacy with the decision makers (Govt-MoHFW) to strengthen transparency and bring patient-centered health policies in India.
Following him, Dr M Srinivas, Dr M Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), addressed the conference presenting the case of good governance and technological initiatives in ESI Medical College and Hospital in Hyderabad resulting in marked performance improvements. He expressed hope that all academic deliberations will have recommendations for good governance and transparency in the medical sector and create pathways for better health for the country and mankind. He further emphasized the need to strengthen Public-Private partnerships for scaling up Anti-Corruption Collective Action in the healthcare sector in India by ensuring transparency, good governance, and integrity in business.
Director of AIIMS, addressed the conference presenting the case of Good governance and technological initiatives in ESI Medical College Hospital in Hyderabad resulting in marked performance improvements. He expressed hope that all academic deliberations will have recommendations for good governance and transparency in the medical sector and create pathways for better health for the country and mankind.
Mr. Ratnesh, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network India ( UN GCNI) gave an overview of UN GCNI saying UN Global Compact is a global network of businesses with a human face. We are not about audit, we are not about measurement, we are about trusting each other and forming a community of like-minded global corporate citizens. All the top civil society organisations, academic institutions, as well as corporate members are forging together hand in hand to achieve these sustainable development goals. And it all begins with a declaration that we believe and practice the ten universal principles that the UN Global Compact espouses, which are in the area of human rights, labour standards, anti-corruption, as well as environmental protection. All of these are reflected in this august gathering, all of you are the young citizens of the world who are being trained in the skills and pedagogy which is suited for the new world, adhering to the diversity and the richness of Indian tradition as well as equipping you to address the major challenges in the healthcare sector. This is in essence what the UN Global Compact strives to do.
Further, the panel discussion was followed by welcoming all panelists onto the stage along with the moderator for the discussion by Dr Somnath Singh, Deputy Director, UN GCNI. He introduced the speakers briefly and encouraged them to openly share healthcare challenges and the solutions to tackle them. The panelists included: Dr. Swarnalatha S, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fortis La Femme, Bengaluru; Mr. Deep Chandra Papnoi, Deputy Director, UN GCNI; Dr. R Kishore Kumar, Chairman, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals; Mr. Venkata Phani Kiran, Associate Vice President, Corporate Compliance Dr. Reddy’d Laboratories Ltd; Dr. A Velumani, Founder Thyrocare; Ms Aishwarya Sitharam, Associate Director, Corporate Biocon Limited; Dr Vishal Rao, Group Director for Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Robotic Surgery, HCG Cancer Centre; and Dr. Karthik Ramesh, CEO, and Founder SAIMA Labs.
Further, to make the discussion productive and meaningful, the Moderator “Dr. Somnath” put up relevant questions to the speakers which they efficiently answered.
The third event under the conclave was the multi-stakeholder workshop to foster collective action to strengthen transparency, and accountability in healthcare and devise strategies to combat corruption and improve good governance in the health sector.
A focus group discussion was held with the healthcare providers and relevant stakeholders from pharmaceutical sectors, corporate, research institutes, academia, and Civil society organizations.
Dr. Somnath Singh, Deputy Director, UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI: set the tone of the discussion and gave an overview of corruption saying Corruption, conflict, and instability are meanwhile profoundly intertwined. Corruption not only follows conflict but is also frequently one of its root causes. It fuels conflict and inhibits peace processes by undermining the rule of law, worsening poverty, and facilitating the illicit use of resources. Promoting transparency and strengthening institutions are therefore critical for sustaining peace.
Collective Action is evolving toward a “hybrid co-regulation.” Formal regulation efforts at a global and national level have increasingly been complemented by self-regulation efforts stemming from proactive cooperation between business actors from specific sectors.
Mr. Arya Dev, Assistant Programme Manager, UN GCNI, gave an overview of UN GCNI and the initiatives that it has taken on Anti-Corruption.
He also shared the objective of the event saying this multi-stakeholder discussion (FGD) has been planned to know about major challenges in the healthcare sectors, new initiatives and innovations by healthcare sectors, and to seek your valuable suggestions and recommendations to mitigate corruption challenges at all levels.
The conclave witnessed participation from across various groups such as: Specialized Anti-Corruption bodies; Health organizations, Hospitals, Pharmaceuticals; Business /corporate/CSR/ MSME/Start-Ups; independent Media; academic and Research Institutes; Patient organizations; and Civil Society organizations/NGOs.
The conclave emphasised multi-stakeholder engagement to fight corruption and to help in building a robust governance structure, transparent and ethical business practices, and integrity across the healthcare ecosystem.
