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not have a mechanism to accept funds tand, and then address their needs. ment of Ted Turner's partnership,
from non-governmental sources, be- Partnerships are purely about rela- UNICEF stated: "We are prioritizing
sides there was no arrangement for tionships. You cannot have a success- health." UNDP in turn said: "We
subrogation of sovereign debt. "This ful partnership if there is no give and are focused on improving children's
is an issue between the United States take. It is always important to have an health by building hospitals." WHO
government and the United Nations." understanding of the other partner's stated: "We reflect the overall policy
To which Mr. Turner replied: "I am wants and expectations. You have to agenda for children's health issues."
committed to supporting the UN's be mindful of their corporate and lo- As they could not be funded indepen-
work, and I want to contribute." cal cultures. Often we encounter the dently, we put together a coalition of
attitude, "Oh! We know the solution!" partners, which included interna-
This was a remarkable moment for But actually, we do not know the so- tional as well as local NGOs, so as to
the UN, as Ted Turner's pledge of US$ lution. We cannot simply take a "top- empower people at the grassroots level.
1 billion, led to the creation of the down" approach. The solutions have The aim was to develop high-quality
United Nations Foundation, as well to come from the bottom-up, from the programmes, which could then be
as its interface and counterpart, the stakeholders on the ground; the real replicated by others internationally.
UN Office for Partnerships (originally stakeholders are the underprivileged.
as the UN Fund for International They know what they want and what We were able to achieve very good re-
Partnerships). Today, the UN Foun- they need; the issue is that the under- sults through this collective engage-
dation and the Office for Partnerships privileged just do not have the tools ment. One particular success story is
continue to successfully build and yet to achieve these wants and most the Mother-To-Child Transmission of
implement public-private partner- basic needs. Diseases Programme, in which UNDP,
ships to address the world's most UNICEF and WHO all participated.
pressing problems. Therefore, we reached out to local Each partner brought something diffe-
communities through the UN sys- rent to the table. We had the expertise
In return, Ted Turner had no agenda, tem and organizations such as WFP, at a policy level from WHO; UNFPA
he simply said: "This is money to help UNFPA and WHO, and by engaging provided in-depth research and field
support the UN's work." So we were at a grassroots level, and speaking expertise; UNDP supplied our on-the-
able to establish an expert group within with the people most in need, we were ground connections with NGOs; and
the UN, and seek its advice on the key then able to come up with innovative UNICEF of course oversaw our agen-
priorities: health, women and popula- solutions. We need to continue to rely da for children's health. This is just
tion issues, biodiversity, not forgetting heavily on innovation.... one example, but many such compre-
peace, security, and human rights. hensive programmes were developed,
Q: Some people have had a nega- achieving tangible results through col-
Crucially, with the help of Ted tive impression about efficiency. laborative efforts, and pooled exper-
Turner and Tim Wirth, President of They say that the UN has too tise and resources.
the UN Foundation, and his dynamic much power. What do you think
team, we engaged new partners from about this? We alone cannot take credit for this
the private sector and civil society to because in effect, we acted to provide
find the best solutions for addressing The UN has a board of 192 countries, the various partners with the platform
global challenges. As a result of Ted's and like any public sector institution, they required, so that they could
commitment many business leaders, it has to ensure accountability and subsequently engage in a multi-
foundations, and companies came provide transparency. This requires stakeholder dialogue. We also
to us saying: "If the UN works with checks and balances and following encouraged partnerships with the
Mr. Turner, can you also work with us?" of rules and procedures. Sometimes private sector to benefit from their
these can be cumbersome, however leadership, distribution networks and
Q: It is one of the success stories the bottom line is that the system is logistical expertise.
of the United Nations. designed to be accountable.
Q. Could you tell us something
Indeed! There is now a growing band By combining the normative functions about the Platform and the
of people who believe that you cannot of the public sector with the business Global Partnerships Forum?
do anything without partnerships. skills and logistics expertise of the pri-
vate sector, you increase the chances It became clear during my last
Q: We hear a lot about public/ of sustainable results. ten years, working in the area of
private partnerships and, given partnerships at the United Nations,
your extensive experience, what What we did was encourage the that there is an enormous amount of
are in your opinion the key ele- culture of -- if you like -- collective interest in working together to create
ments in this partnership? engagement. That sometimes meant long-term sustainability. At the same
extra consultations and discussions, time, companies often talk about "cor-
We must ensure that we know what but it also meant that we were able to porate social responsibility." They
we are working to achieve, and benefit from a broad range of ideas, sometimes use this approach as an
moreover, that we know what people with no single entity as the sole de- instrument of PR, and perhaps as ano-
want. We need people to tell us about cision-maker. You would have two ther way to promote their company in
their requirements and the chal- or three key UN organizations that the eyes of the public. While the in-
lenges with which they are confron- collectively came up with a solution. tentions of this initiative are rooted
ted, so that we can first unders- For example, during the establish- in the right direction, we of course

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