Johannesburg — Companies are helping to create a healthy society, writes Erica Webster

THERE is a growing acceptance in the pharmaceutical industry as in other industries that companies have a responsibility to the broader community.

Many operators in the pharmaceutical industry have aligned their corporate social investment (CSI) strategies with their core business the provision of quality health care.

While there is a growing trend in other industries to use CSI as a marketing tool, many pharmaceutical companies do not expect any direct or tangible benefits.

John Fagan, CEO of Aventis, says the Roman orator Marcus Cicero once said: "The good of the people is the chief law."

"This sentiment should be taken to heart when addressing social responsibility programmes," he says. "It guides you in terms of what needs to be done and how to go about doing it."

Michelle Roborg-Sondergaard, human resources director at AstraZeneca, says the company believes the main purpose of CSI should be to work with people in disadvantaged communities.

"All our CSI initiatives are focused on building and improving basic needs and are not linked to the commercial aspect of the business," she says.

Vicki Ehrich, director: corporate affairs at GlaxoSmithKline SA says: "The fact that we are leaders in the HIV/AIDS field does not influence our commitment to HIV/AIDS in our CSI strategy.

"Despite the fact that we get very little recognition for the investment we make, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are having a positive effect in the community."

Because many pharmaceutical companies in SA are multinationals, their CSI programmes often extend beyond SA's borders. Large social responsibility investments are often sourced from the international partner.

Roborg-Sondergaard says it is a concern when projects have millions poured into them only to fall flat later.

"Our strategy has been to find something that will have an impact on the community and that will be sustainable," she says.

The pharmaceutical industry is often accused of profiteering from the sale of drugs to people whose lives depend on them, but CSI programmes demonstrate the industry's efforts to counteract and not ignore criticism.

Operators in the industry have made significant efforts to make drugs more affordable.

Cipla Medpro manufactures generic triple-drug therapy that costs less than $1 a day, says CEO Jerome Smith.

"The pillars of this society are health, education, and law and order," he says. "If we have a healthy society and more people have access to life-enhancing or life-saving drugs, we will have strengthened one vital pillar."

A characteristic of the industry is to support initiatives that reach out to communities close to a company's premises.

Merck Sharp & Dohme, based in Midrand, support a variety of programmes in the area, such as financial and material donations for a shelter for HIV/AIDS children and orphans.

"We're committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of those in our immediate surroundings," says external affairs manager Lindy Goodfellow.

The concept, dubbed the "neighbourhood of choice", is replicated in the company's subsidiaries worldwide.