The NBCC coalition was part of high level discussions at a UNGA event addressing SDG’s and the impact Covid-19 has had on them. The event addressed by UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed and the presidential address was presented by ICT CS Joseph Mucheru among other dignitaries.
Ms. Mohammed acknowledged and lauded the efforts of President Kenyatta in championing acceleration of attaining accelerated human development through the Big 4 Agenda. She applauded the commitment and will-ingness to discuss the role of partnerships to recover better from the pandemic and to go back on track to de-liver the Sustainable Development Goals.
Noting that Covid-19 has prompted extraordinary examples of collaboration on sustainable development that have led to the formation of unprecedented alliances, innovation and achievements; rapid migration to digital technologies, a new generation of finance products and infrastructure, and ambitious social protection pro-grams implemented at a scale never seen before.
DSG Amina further added “The SDG Partnership Platform Kenya has also generated important gains, including an investment pipeline for healthcare; efforts to protect livelihoods in agriculture; and steps to harness the poten-tial of technology, big-data and innovation, with a special focus on young people.”
Speaking on behalf of the NBCC, Dr. Myriam Sidibe lauded the power behind the synergy brought about by the coalition partners of the NBCC. From mid-March, the coalition brought together enterprise, government and development partners behind a common cause Komesha Corona. Through the efficiencies that the coalition has delivered, NBCC has just been defined as a blueprint for partnerships and coalitions to respond to Covid 19.
Thanking the government for partnering with and allowing the NBCC to operate, Dr. Sidibe further thanked the president for enforcing caveats aimed at winning the war against Covid-19. Thanking the coalition’s partners, Dr. Sidibe noted “Covid-19 has given us an opportunity to examine our values, to look at what we are doing and why we are doing it. It has become very clear that it is the brands with a mission that are going to weather this year the best.”
Highlighting the coalition’s success, Dr. Sidibe indicated NBCC has raised 700,000 USD in cash and in-kind contributions, 700,000 USD of pro-bono work and 3.7 million USD in a UK FCDO Unilever finance package for three countries in East Afri-ca. Further the coalition has among others:-
• Initiated the 'Komesha Corona' media campaign with a current reach of 1.8 million households through TV and radio and 10 million people through billboards - a total of at least 15 million people
• We’ve identified 7,500 handwashing hotspot facilities across Kenya and reached 5,400 already
• We’ve distributed 100,000 masks and 311,500 bars of soap alongside the handwashing hotspots
• Working with Unilever and The UK’s FCDO created a new model of blended finance that can be modified and imitated worldwide by those seeking to attain the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Driven behaviour change communication through Kenya’s Shujaaz media platform that has helped millions to do the very best they can for their families, sensitive to the extraordinary constraints of trying to earn a very low income in the middle of a pandemic. The coalition has also brought together the European Union and Equity Bank, AMREF and Harvard University in partnerships that will outlast our lifetimes, boost liveli-hoods and save lives.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Sidibe noted it is going to take visionary leadership to beat this virus and for this we need among others more business models that consider last mile distribution, we need sustainable delivery systems that sup-port every school with handwashing facilities, water and behaviour change so that every young boy wears a mask and every young girl washes her hands automatically.
Other speakers at the session included H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya; Joe Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth, Kenya; Sanda Ojiambo, UN Global Compact Executive Director; Dr. James Mwangi, MD and CEO, Equity Group Holdings and Executive Chairman, Equity Group Foundation-Winner 2020 Oslo Business for Peace Award; Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Global CEO, Amref Health Africa; Jane Nelson, Director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School; Myriam Sidibe, Chair, National Business Compact on Coronavirus, Kenya-Author, “Brands on a Mission”; Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Co-ordinator to Kenya, and others.
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