Just a few days ago, US President Barack Obama announced plans to withdraw most of the troops from West Africa after a 10-month long military mission to help contain the Ebola virus. The outbreak has been significantly contained from 1,000 new cases a week to roughly 150 a week. However, the fight is far from over. According to WHO, the Ebola virus has claimed over 9,000 lives in this current outbreak and despite the significant drop, continued efforts are required to bring us to zero not just from governments but the community at large.
The UN Global Compact, in partnership with the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group (EPSMG), have initiated a pledge calling for the private sector’s commitment to help eliminate Ebola. Companies have a role to play in responding to the virus, particularly businesses with operations or interests in the region. The UN Global Compact and EPSMG want to reach every company that has an imprint in Western Africa, and so far over 50 companies have demonstrated leadership by committing to actions. By signing this pledge, Symantec commits to taking the steps within our organization to train and prepare our staff as well as financially support the emergency response teams out in the field. Read our summary of actions below:
| Summary of Actions 1. We will train and tell our own staff about Ebola, asking them to pass that knowledge to their families, neighbours and communities to prevent infection and fight stigma. A training on the Ebola disease and prevention will be organised for our staff in South Africa and for individuals traveling to West Africa by the end of February 2015. 2. The Symantec corporate safety and security team will prepare procedures and assets to respond to an outbreak within our own company. We will ask the same of our suppliers. 3. The Symantec CR team will be making a corporate donation of $10,000 USD to United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. Additionally, we have provided guidance to all our employees wishing to donate, by updating our internal disaster response page with suggested organizations. The UN organization is currently being added to this list. The travel team has provided employees with guidance on travel to the region. The corporate safety and security team have provided their guidance i.e. shared useful information communicated by the International SOS on Ebola disease and prevention measures as well as sharing a video with prevention information on how to reduce risk. Furthermore we are closely monitoring reports from the WHO about measures to contain the outbreak of EVD in West Africa. | 13 Jan 2015 |
