Corporate responsiblity in the age of Covid 19
What difference a week makes! On Tuesday last week when I sent in my CSI segment preparatory to publication on Thursday, the corona virus issue in Nigeria was still largely speculative, so to speak. The first two paragraphs were a hopeful run:
“The developed world is shutting down even as SubSaharan Africa stays open for business. The fear of COVID 19 has gripped the world’s imagination and even though the physical footprints are not fully indented here, a lot of folks are aware and afraid of what could happen should it make proper landing here.
“A lot of the anecdotal things we hear are sort of heartwarming. The virus is supposedly unable to survive the sweltering heat that is Africa’s general weather. Some have also claimed that the melanin pigmentation in black folks helps make us resistant so that even when we get infected, it’s usually with the mild sort which is easily dealt with by naturally occurring antibodies in our system. That can’t be all true though. The death, last week in Italy, of 64 year old Nigerian pathologist, Dr. Olumide Okunuga, put paid to that line of thinking.”
Hmnnn. Today, the physical footprints of Covid 19 are indented across many African countries. In Nigeria, as at the time of writing this on Monday 23/03/20, the first Nigerian casualty in the person of Suleiman Achimugu, 67, ex MD of PPMC had just been confirmed. This alongside the first confirmed case in Edo and with the tally as at Monday rendered thus: 36 confirmed cases, 33 active cases, 2 discharges, and 1 death. This is not where we expected we would be. The fabled melanin has not put a strong enough, if any, defense, on our behalf.
What was responsible for the sudden spike? Government didn’t do what it should have done: close down the airspace and land borders, and monitor foreigners and returnees streaming into the country from high risk countries. Our salvation had been lack of exposure to those infected in Asia, Europe and the Americas. But as is our custom, we didn’t do the needful, and now on the back foot are engaging the fire brigade method, bad even as a metaphor in Nigeria where the Fire Service is known for showing up at conflagrations without a drop of water….
A lot of the extreme measures being suggested, and which worked in other countries, e.g. lockdowns and self quarantines are unlikely to work here for majority of the population. Government simply does not have what it takes to police the length and breadth of Nigeria to ensure compliance. And a major reason people aren’t going to comply is because their economic misfortunes are now even direr with the advent of Covid 19. How can you lock down a family that does not have a day’s supply of food, never mind 14 days? The scenario does not look good at all.
However, effort must continually be made to ensure that the right things are done and adhered to: No crowding. No churching or ‘mosqueing’. Religion should revert to its place as a strictly personal endeavour. Let the Almighty alone be witness to your passion and zeal. And so far, most churches have done a good job of adherence. The rest should do likewise by self-regulating as authorities simply cannot police every place of worship.
But even as governments and religious bodies step up to the plate, the corporate sector needs to heed the call of the times and be factors indeed for a healthy Nigeria. That call must take cognizance first of their internal publics; that they go all out to ensure the health and wellbeing of their staff and customers. Work from home is doable for some organisations. Some corporates already started the shift process whereby a set of staff relieve another set every other day. But lack of full work days should not justify pay cuts except where the organisation justifiably has not the means to pay. In any case, work from home remains a viable option for those with staff on rotation.
It’s heartening to see that most organisations are doing the basics. Temperature checks, sanitizer in open view for use by all, soaps, staff donning face masks and some wearing gloves, and Covid 19 information materials well displayed for all to see and apply.
But even going further is for the impact of our corporates to be felt in the larger society. And we can take our examples from corporates abroad and their response so far: According to the
World Economic Forum, “As the number of confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases continues to rise, exceeding 200,000 on 18 March, something else is starting to happen around the world – entrepreneurs, businesses and multimillionaire philanthropists are pledging their support.”
The report goes on to say that “some are augmenting the work of public bodies, while others are filling gaps that might otherwise have been left unfilled”. A roll call of some of those that have pitched in include:
Ali Baba
Jack Ma, founder of Ali Baba, through the Jack Ma Foundation, is donating 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks, and 60,000 protective suits and face shields. They are all being sent to Ethiopia first, for distribution to every country in African.
“As members of the global community, it will be irresponsible of us to sit on the fence, panic, ignore facts or fail to act. We need to take action now,” he said.
Amazon
Amazon is taking it upon itself to donate $5 million to local businesses that are based near its Seattle headquarters that will likely lose out on sales now that thousands of Amazon staff are working from home. As well, Amazon has said it would stop shipping non-essential products to customers in Italy and France where coronavirus cases have continued to soar.
Microsoft, Amazon, Alaska Airlines & Starbucks
A consortium of big US businesses including Microsoft, Amazon, Alaska Airlines and Starbucks Foundation have donated $2.5 million so far to create the COVID-19 Response Fund targeting Washington State which is one of those states hard hit by the pandemic. Microsoft President, Brad Smith, said “As large corporations, we can take this step and should. But not all businesses will be able to do so. As our community focuses on public health needs during the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s important that we also rally together to address the unmet economic needs developing around us.”
Facebook has said it will donate $ 20 million to support coronavirus relief efforts.
Apple
Apple is committing $15 million.
Roche
This Swiss pharmaceutical giant has started shipping coronavirus tests to the US and plans to get at least 400,000 out every week. Its fully automated tests are capable of delivering up to 960 sets of results every eight hours using one of its powerful analysis machines.
The test kits are destined for around 30 labs that have a broad geographic reach and high patient impact. “We do have to prioritize testing because there is simply not enough capacity for broad-based testing,” Roche CEO Severin Schwan said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Rolls-royce
In the UK, the government has turned to some of the country’s biggest industrial names, including Rolls Royce and Dyson. They are being called upon to start producing life-saving ventilators. On 16 March, the UK’S health secretary, Matt Hancock, issued an appeal via Twitter: “Calling all manufacturers who can support our National Effort for #coronavirus ventilator production - to help, contact Government Business Support team.”
LVMH
French luxury powerhouse LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Tiffany, Dom Pérignon and many other high-end brands, has now ventured into the hand-sanitizer sector. Factories that usually produce perfume and make-up for brands like Christian Dior and Givenchy are being pressed into service to fight COVID-19.
“LVMH will use the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands... to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gels,” the company said in a statement.
The Nigerian Corporate Response
We expect the big corporates in Nigeria, especially the multinationals, to register their impact in this trying time and season via a creative deployment of their assets. While it’s clear that most Nigerian corporates lack the financial arsenal of their western and Chinese counterparts, they still can pool up formidable resources towards this fight if they are so inclined. Let’s face it, their markets are suffering, there’s likely to be a steep decline in purchasing power, and that might just be the beginning of the disruption.
Covid 19, truth be told, is an existential crisis for most corporates. If it drags on for too long, it most probably will drag a number corporates down with it, organisations that become too weakened to ever rise again. And our weakened economy, now no longer without their participation, only becomes weaker and weaker still.
Nigeria’s private sector, therefore, rather than treat their engagement with the crisis as a sympathetic extension of support should engage it along the lines of enlightened self-interest. We help to help ourselves survive. If our markets go down, we go down with it. What does the country need to combat Covid 19? We expect that some industrial/manufacturing concerns will throw their production lines open and come up with response thst helps us all breathe easier. And who knows, these crises, brimming over with opportunities as such times usually are, might see those businesses emerge with entirely new business lines and models that sees them end up stronger
The private sector must therefore swiftly, vigorously, and vociferously engage with government leaving it no room for the missteps that got us here. On our part, any company so engaged can reach us with details of their efforts. Not only so we can commend but also to recommend those efforts and initiatives to a broader swathe of Nigerian corporates.
NCDCTOLL-FREENUMBER: 080097000010 Twitter/facebook:@ncdcgov/ COVID19.NCDC.GOV.NG