APEC CEO Summit: Investing in women’s health is investing in society
H.E. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, President of the Republic of the Philippines; and Kevin Ali, CEO of Organon and Private Sector Chair of CEO Summit (Photo courtesy APEC CEO Summit 2023)
Women are the backbone of a society so an investment in women’s health is an investment in society – this is one of the key takeaways from the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit attended by world leaders, global business executives, and thought leaders.
With the APEC region home to roughly one-third of the women in the world, the most transformational opportunities lie in expanding women’s economic empowerment. The Summit underscored that empowering women entails addressing their unmet health needs, which includes Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH) across life stages.
The Summit also paved way to bi-literal meetings between policy makers and business leaders dedicated to ensuring sustained economic prosperity of the region to initiate actions that make a real difference.
Organon CEO Kevin Ali served as the Private Sector Co-Chair of the APEC CEO Summit. The role was an exciting opportunity for Organon, a global healthcare company with a focus on women’s health.
During the Summit, Ali met with the Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to discuss the need to collaborate to reduce gender-related disparities in health, and expand access to sexual and reproductive health services and products for women
The Philippines government has already made significant advancements in addressing the Family Planning needs of Filipino Women through the National Family Program that provides free access to contraceptives and other family planning services to women in need.
Organon is a proud supporter of this program via the Her Access Initiative. This program builds on Organon’s commitment to prevent 120 million unplanned pregnancies by 2030 by providing 100 million girls and women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with affordable access to contraceptive options by 2030.
However a large unmet needs still exists and Organon remains committed to work with the Philippines government to ensure all women who need family panning services can access them.
Kevin Ali, Organon CEO (Photo courtesy APEC CEO Summit 2023)
Aligned with the APEC economies’ vision to increase the health and wellbeing of the people in the region, Organon’s commitment is to build a business around patient needs, with the goal of identifying and advancing healthcare options for women that enable them to live their best lives every day.
“When women and girls have access to contraception resources and options, they can unlock their fullest potential – and that of their families, societies and economies,” said Ali. “Organon is pleased to stand with APEC and the family planning community with our commitment to help prevent 120 million unintended pregnancies around the world where there is the greatest need.”
Organon believes that a healthier women’s population will have a multiplier effect not only in terms of women’s health, but their communities and their economies. That is why the company is on a mission to address the unmet health needs of women in APEC through the advancement of science, innovation and private-public partnerships create a more resilient, healthier, and gender- equitable world.
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