Businesspeople and the United Nations have joined hands together to cope with the challenges faced by the private sector from COVID-19.

Under the arrangement, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) will be launching a worldwide survey to gather more information about global business responses and develop solutions that will address the spread of the pandemic.

The ICC-WHO survey will improve information flows between different sectors of the global economy and develop a framework for managing the economic and human consequences related to the pandemic’s spread, says a ICC press release.

On the launch of the ICC-WHO survey, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “By providing transparent feedback, the private sector can minimise the spread of COVID-19 and address the pandemic’s underlying repercussions for our global economy. ICC and WHO are calling on business leaders – as trusted voices in their local communities – to share more information about the pandemic’s influence on their daily operations, supply chains, and employees.”

The survey is the latest step in ICC and WHO’s unique collaboration to provide reliable COVID-19-related information to the private sector and develop trusted guidance for business communities around the world. As part of an initial joint statement, ICC and WHO called upon national governments to adopt a ‘whole-of-society’ approach in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Calling for participation in the survey via video message, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “This survey will allow us to understand how businesses are responding. It will help us map best practices and understand better where we and national health authorities should focus our attention.

The information generated by the survey will help us mount an effective response, saving lives and minimising economic damage.”

The ICC-WHO survey is designed to only take a few minutes and can be found on ICC’s website. Medallia, a leading customer experience technology company, is providing the technology and assisting ICC in deploying and providing analytics for this important online survey.