39 per cent of firms report serious impact on business: study
Malaria costs businesses in sub-Saharan Africa 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product, according to a new study.
The Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum surveyed more than 8,000 business leaders in 100 countries and found 39 per cent of firms in sub-Saharan Africa reported malaria causes serious impact on their activities.
Seventy-two per cent of all respondents reported their firms were affected in some way by the mosquito-borne disease at the time of the survey.
“For some firms, involvement in malaria control is likely to be in their best interest. Poor health can affect businesses directly, through its impact on workers, customers and corporate reputation,” stated the report Business and Malaria: A Neglected Threat.
“Although the academic literature is thin, there is some empirical evidence that malaria has directly impeded business activities, and several large corporations have engaged in malaria control in order to limit its impacts on them.”
Malaria causes almost one million deaths worldwide per year and the majority are young children in Africa. The vast majority (90 per cent) of the 300 million clinical cases of malaria worldwide are in Africa.
The report also included a set of guidelines to encourage and assist businesses in Africa in taking up a more active role in the fight against malaria by setting up workplace-based disease control activities.
Some sub-Saharan African governments lack adequate resources to effectively control and prevent malaria. The guidelines suggest businesses step into the gap suggesting workplace policies on malaria control that extend into communities where the workers live.
The Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum surveyed more than 8,000 business leaders in 100 countries and found 39 per cent of firms in sub-Saharan Africa reported malaria causes serious impact on their activities.
Seventy-two per cent of all respondents reported their firms were affected in some way by the mosquito-borne disease at the time of the survey.
“For some firms, involvement in malaria control is likely to be in their best interest. Poor health can affect businesses directly, through its impact on workers, customers and corporate reputation,” stated the report Business and Malaria: A Neglected Threat.
“Although the academic literature is thin, there is some empirical evidence that malaria has directly impeded business activities, and several large corporations have engaged in malaria control in order to limit its impacts on them.”
Malaria causes almost one million deaths worldwide per year and the majority are young children in Africa. The vast majority (90 per cent) of the 300 million clinical cases of malaria worldwide are in Africa.
The report also included a set of guidelines to encourage and assist businesses in Africa in taking up a more active role in the fight against malaria by setting up workplace-based disease control activities.
Some sub-Saharan African governments lack adequate resources to effectively control and prevent malaria. The guidelines suggest businesses step into the gap suggesting workplace policies on malaria control that extend into communities where the workers live.
