Despite notable advancements in medicine and technology in recent years, access to basic healthcare remains a global issue. The private sector’s role in citizen health is therefore becoming progressively essential to reduce part of the burden on the public healthcare system and meet growing needs for preventive care.
To address these issues, leading consumer health company Haleon has set the ambitious goal of empowering 50 million people a year by 2025 to be more actively involved in their own health. Ritesh Pandey, general manager of Haleon Taiwan, says that the company sees itself playing a significant part in promoting preventive health and self-care.
“Because so many people know and trust our brands, we have a heightened sense of responsibility to drive awareness and make everyday health more inclusive, sustainable, and achievable,” he says. “Promoting self-care not only releases some of the pressure placed on the healthcare system – it also encourages responsibility and empowers people to improve their quality of life.”
This is particularly pertinent for Taiwan, where self-care for increased immunity and mobility can contribute to a healthier aging society. Taiwan is projected to become a super-aged society by 2025, a development that will further strain the island’s hospitals and National Health Insurance (NHI) system. Luckily, as Pandey notes, “people in Taiwan have a high degree of health awareness and are motivated to understand how brands can help them lead a healthier life.”
Following its demerger from GSK plc in July this year, Haleon is the world’s largest consumer health company with an extensive portfolio of well-known brands like Sensodyne, Centrum, and Caltrate. The demerger, notes Pandey, has enabled Haleon to focus all its efforts on delivering everyday health with humanity.
While the company runs a profitable business, Pandey emphasizes Haleon’s obligation to society as its most important mission. Consequently, the need to blend science and humanity infuses all aspects of the company’s operations. “ Haleon’s competitive advantage lies in our ability to blend deep human understanding and trusted science in the products we create,” he says.
Haleon is strengthening the everyday health ecosystem in Taiwan by partnering with healthcare professionals and other key opinion leaders, as well as communicating directly with consumers and the government. Increasingly, these efforts are exercised online. Pandey notes that during the past two years, pandemic restrictions accelerated digital innovation and altered how people consume digital information, with amplified expectations placed on trusted healthcare brands.
“For us, the digital sphere is about education as much as communication,” says Pandey. “We see a big gap in consumers’ awareness of what they can do to lead a healthier life, and digital mediums help us connect faster and makes us more agile. But even more important when helping citizens is how we foster a positive culture and commit to improving everyday health.”
Haleon is one of the most progressive companies among multinationals globally, as it recently announced its market-leading parental leave policy. All employees globally will be entitled to 26 weeks fully paid parental leave following the arrival of a child into their lives. In addition, coinciding with the company’s first day as an independent company, granted all permanent Haleon employees a Haleon “Ownership Award” of 100 ordinary shares in Haleon plc. “We are giving employees the opportunity to become an owner of our company, and we wanted to strengthen that sense of belonging among our teams,” notes Pandey.
And Haleon’s efforts to be a trusted partner and employee are being noticed: the company has been awarded “Best Company to Work For” by HR Asia for two consecutive years and celebrated as partner of the year by several affiliates. While Pandey is proud of these achievements, he stresses that Haleon will continue to strive for improvement.
“Winning these awards has confirmed that we’re on the right track, and this type of external recognition motivates us to do even better,” he says. “Once you’ve built trust with stakeholders, you need to work even harder to maintain that trust, and that’s what we will continue to do.”
Source: Taiwan Business
