How Germany’s CSR Program can help Pakistan

The greatest use of human life is to be useful to others. The purpose of human life is not to consume, not to watch, but to do something for someone else that improves their life, and in this era it’s so important. We live in a world of lies and liars where the act of social responsibility is no less than an art. How Germany CSR Program Can Help The Healthcare Sector in Pakistan.

CSR In Germany :

The Federal Government of Germany has been promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) as part of its policies for many years. The terrible outcomes of the economic and financial crisis, have increasingly compelled people to call for more responsible behavior by companies. When the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs became the lead ministry for CSR within the Federal Government, these demands were immediately voiced at the Heiligendamm summit in 2007 during Germany’s G8 Presidency.

The ministry has successfully established the National CSR Forum as a body bringing together various stakeholders to work on corporate responsibility. The Forum serves as the backbone and provides vital support to the Federal Government in developing a National CSR Strategy. Due to the Forum’s recommendations, the Federal Government adopted the CSR Action Plan in 2010. The plan was implemented in the following years, spreading CSR more widely in Germany.

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 The co-determinating principle has shaped German industrial relations significantly over the past few years. Working men and women and their employers, all have been benefited due to the strength of employee participation, as they are more consensual in Germany than it is in many countries.

The German system of co-determination is an implicit and mandatory part of the corporate social responsibility as stated above. Surprisingly, companies’ decision-making can be influenced by employee representatives in work councils and company supervisory boards, to the benefit of the employees.

On 9 March  2017, the German Parliament adopted the law to strengthen non-financial reporting of companies in their annual reports.CO₂OL, a specialist for quality forest carbon projects and Corporate climate action reported: “ Capital-market oriented companies, credit institutions, and insurances with a company size of 500 employees must now report on their achievements in the areas of environment, society, employees, human rights and the fight against corruption. Companies can decide which reporting standard they want to choose from national, European or international frameworks. With this resolution, the parliament in Berlin adopted the Directive 2014/95 /EU (European CSR Directive) into national law.” 

The EU Commission has named the German Sustainability Code (DNK). Developed by the German Council for Sustainable Development, the DNK allows medium-sized companies to enter non-financial reporting. Focussing on materiality and transparency, it highlights the sustainability performance of the core business and therefore allows for an efficient assessment of the company’s performance. The DNK can be used by companies of all sizes and legal structures.

How Germany’s CSR Can Help The Healthcare Sector in Pakistan:

GIZ has been working in Pakistan on behalf of the German Government, mainly the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Foreign Office (AA), since the bilateral agreement was signed in 1972, and has maintained a country office in Pakistan since 1990. With a total of 16 projects and programs at present, the Pakistan portfolio is one of GIZ’s largest worldwide.  

Pakistan’s health indicators are comparatively worse than those of other countries in the South Asian region with a comparable level of development. This is particularly true about maternal and child mortality: 1 in 11 children in Pakistan die before their fifth birthday, while the figure is 1 in 19 in Bangladesh and Nepal. Diseases such as diabetes and cardiac disease, injuries, and mental illnesses are steadily increasing in Pakistan. They account for around half of the country’s burden of disease, the other half being attributable to contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. The institutions in Pakistan’s health system lack the necessary professional capacities and are unable to offer the population comprehensive, affordable health care of adequate quality.

GIZ is providing support in four areas of activity, in some cases throughout the country and in others in selected provinces: healthcare, blood bank safety, health financing, good governance in the health sector. The measures are geared towards the citizens and in particular the poor.

Pakistan’s health indicators are too worse in maternal and child health than those of other countries in the region with a comparable level of development. The average number of children born per woman in Pakistan is 3.8, and the maternal mortality rate is 276 per 100,000 live births. Of 1,000 live births, 74 babies and infants die before their first birthday. The high birth rate in Pakistan is partly due to the fact that men and women are not sufficiently well informed about methods of contraception. In addition, parents-to-be do not receive sufficient support on family planning, and women and their children do not have access to adequate medical care during pregnancy and birth and the postnatal period. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, little use is made of the few sexual and reproductive health and family planning services offered by the state health services.

GIZ  project supports the health and planning departments in the provinces and districts and other partners at all levels of the health system in improving care and service quality in the field of reproductive health. The regional focus of the project is on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly on two districts in the province.

On the supply side, support is being provided for quality improvement processes and the extension of services, for example in the field of safe prenatal and postnatal maternal care. On the demand side, the population is being educated about family planning issues and the prenatal and postnatal maternal care available in the health centers. RMP advises the Department of Health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on how to integrate and supplement existing programs on sexual and reproductive health more effectively. At the same time, the project aims to raise awareness among the people about the significance of sexual and reproductive health and family planning.  

An honest approach is required to help the healthcare sector in Pakistan. As we have always mentioned that underlying problems and issues should be viewed optimistically as a mutual opportunity to do good to others and experience good for self.  Positive changes in society rest upon the serious reformulation of corporate purpose and decision-making structures. The expanding healthcare sector in Pakistan and its high demands offer potential scopes that must be taken into account for further investments.

Conclusion – Germany’s CSR Program:

Sustainability is vividly important. More businesses are adopting a strategic approach to their CSR policies because they are increasingly seeing the benefit of their business and for their stakeholders. Many businesses have made significant strategic advances in sustainability. CSR allows businesses to demonstrate their values, engage their employees, and communicate with the public about how they operate and the choices they make, to ensure a sustainable future.

CSR helps pave the way for partnerships between businesses and civil society that are based on common goals and shared actions to deliver impact-driven outcomes. When CSR policies are adopted, allowing deep change, one can expect similarly soft results in terms of CSR outcomes and impacts.