Novartis provides access to medicine in more than 30 conflict-affected and high-risk markets. Due to its progressive sustainability policies and expanding support to patients in these markets, Novartis was included in the portfolio of the CADMOS Peace Investment Fund. Following a series of roundtables exploring the challenges facing staff in conflict affected countries, facilitated by PeaceNexus, Novartis joined forces with the Foundation to strengthen its capacities to operate in these markets and contribute to social cohesion.
A detailed needs assessment confirmed strong interest among staff for guidance, training and tools to facilitate conflict-sensitive and human rights informed decision making in conflict-affected markets. Novartis is now developing a comprehensive support ecosystem to equip staff with the information and guidance to complement existing emergency management and business continuity systems and strengthen decision-making across a range of contexts. This ecosystem will include tailored training approaches and a platform to enable continuous learning and sharing of best practices across Novartis.
In the coming years, Novartis will build up and activate this support ecosystem. Its ambition to further improving human rights informed- and conflict sensitive business practices in fragile settings is captured in the CEO’s ESG commitments for 2023.
