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A beacon of stability in a sea of unrest: the case of Pharmakina in the DRC
Birkenhäger, Bastian
Birkenhäger, Bastian
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GE_145_Pharmakina.pdf
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Abstract
"PHARMAKINA s.c.a.r.l. is a pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Bukavu in war torn eastern DR Congo. On a profitable basis the company produces quinine salts for the global market and Malaria and Aids medicines for the domestic market. The company is known for its extensive community engagement. The company is aspiring to join the United Nations Global Compact. In this context the company has declared its willingness to act as “case subject” for this business case study and to make available the necessary resources. There are two main challenges to be explored in this case study: 1) how to run a business successfully in a conflict area, including security issues, and 2) how to uphold (as much as is practicable) good corporate citizenship ideals – such as the UNGC principles – in a conflict area where also extreme poverty is found. This case study will address the hypothesis that these two challenges involve trade-offs and can seemingly not be met simultaneously. For example, because community engagement mostly involves extra costs, activities in this field are detrimental to profit levels, the maximization of which is the primary goal for any company. This case study will deal mainly with issues of community engagement, given the fact that a cross-cutting theme that ties in the issues related to 1) surviving as a business in a place like the DRC and 2) simultaneously abiding by UNGC principles is that of community engagement. Some pertinent questions to be addressed in this case study are: ® How did PHARMAKINA meet the seemingly conflicting challenges? ® What are PHARMAKINAs activities in the field of community engagement? ® Why does PHARMAKINA engage in community engagement? ® Is community engagement essential for the survival of a company like PHARMAKINA in a conflict zone? ® What is the impact of PHARMAKINA on the immediate community? ® Is there a discernable impact of PHARMAKINA on the on-going conflict? ® What could be regarded as PHARMAKINAs innovative solutions regarding the challenges? ® What are some of the key lessons that can be learnt? It will be seen that some of the most important key lessons were: · Without PHARMAKINAs both intensive and extensive community engagement PHARMAKINA probably wouldn’t have survived in this conflict zone. · As a company doing business in a conflict zone one must be prepared to try and maintain good relationships with all parties, even when some of them could be considered to be war criminals under normal circumstances. The Global Compact principle that is most relevant in this context of conflict and extreme poverty is Principle 1: Business should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. The case study is to be prepared under the broad theme: “Business and Community Engagement”, one of four themes focussed on during the Regional Learning Forum Meeting of the United Nations Global Compact Regional Learning Forum, to be held in Accra, Ghana from November 22-24, 2006."
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2006
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With permission of the license/copyright holder