The U.S. is encountering the worst drug overdose crisis in its history. More than 108,000 people died from an overdose in 2021, with more than two-thirds of the deaths linked to opioids. Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose and can be administered easily by nearly anyone with minimal instruction. Join this session, facilitated by Rosalind Pichardo, to learn how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose with naloxone and hear how she has saved more than 1,000 lives with naloxone. A limited amount of Narcan (nasal-spray form of naloxone) will be distributed to those who complete the training. 

This session will explore:  

• How to recognize when someone is experiencing an opioid overdose 
• How to respond to an opioid overdose using naloxone 
• How to access naloxone in your own community  

GETTING UNSTUCK

Since CGI last convened in 2016, the world has dramatically changed. More frequent natural disasters caused by climate change, the largest number of refugees since World War II, and rising inequality in our health and economic systems are just some of the urgent challenges we face as an international community. Even worse, as challenges continue to mount, it feels increasingly harder to break through the gridlock and realize solutions nationally or globally. But for community-based organizations, entrepreneurs, and a new generation of leaders from the frontlines of these challenges, they’ve had no choice but to rise to the moment to creatively forge solutions and demonstrate that progress is possible. As the public sector, private sector and civil society convene in New York City in person again for the first time in years, the question becomes: how do we break through the challenges and gridlock to make a difference in lives around the world?  

THE FUTURE OF HEALTH: HOW WE CAN HORIZON PLAN FOR THE NEXT GLOBAL HEALTH CHALLENGES

The COVID-19 pandemic put immense strain on an already fragile global health system, and new variants show continued gaps in preparation and containment of infectious diseases. The future of health will be marked by a wide range of challenges, including further infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics; increased disability and death from non-communicable diseases; rising hunger and starvation; inequality and lack of equitable access to health care; and environmental effects and lasting conflicts that impact the health of millions of people. Now is the time to focus on how to better prepare for future disease outbreaks and threats to global health. 

This session will explore: 

• How can our global health systems be better designed to respond to emerging and worsening challenges? 
• How can governments, businesses, and civil society mobilize for greater investment in global health systems? 
• How can individual actors and organizations take steps to support the health and wellness of their communities in the context of these future threats? 

BEYOND REPRESENTATION: HOW WE CAN CLOSE THE OWNERSHIP GAP FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND INVESTORS OF COLOR

In the United States, centuries of systemic racial discrimination have locked communities of color out of the tools and opportunities to build generational wealth. These persistent inequities are evident in the country’s entrepreneurial and financial landscape – only 2 percent of businesses with employees are Black-owned, and only 6 percent are Latino-owned. Of all U.S. asset management firms – key wealth creators and allocators – those owned by persons of color control just 0.7 percent of U.S.-based assets under management. Despite heightened awareness of bias and calls for equity and justice, the focus has often been on increasing representation in leadership positions instead of enabling more diverse ownership of the businesses and capital that drive the nation’s economy. 

This session will explore: 

• How do we create pathways to asset building, wealth creation, and ownership for historically excluded communities? 
• How can we work together to identify and break down the greatest systemic barriers that have slowed and prevented asset building and wealth creation? 
• How can we support the growth of asset allocators, fund managers, and entrepreneurs of color? 

REACHING NET ZERO: HOW WE CAN ACHIEVE THE AMBITIOUS PLEDGES FOR CARBON REDUCTIONS AMID NEW LAWS AND REGULATIONS

REVERSING THE GLOBAL SLIDE ON POVERTY: HOW WE CAN SCALE UP PROVEN ANTI-POVERTY SOLUTIONS

The continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, and the war in Ukraine have exacerbated global poverty levels. According to the World Bank, between 75 and 95 million people are likely to be pushed into extreme poverty this year, reversing decades of progress on global poverty alleviation. In the face of severe loss of income, social protection measures like direct cash transfers, poverty graduation, and cash plus programs have proven extremely effective in providing fast relief to those facing disruption. Strengthening the social protection infrastructure, and pairing immediate poverty relief with long-term strategies, is key to helping the most affected communities rebound and withstand future shocks. 

This session will explore: 

• How can governments, businesses, and NGOs work together to implement and scale up evidence-based anti-poverty solutions? 
• How can we make social protection programs more robust and more responsive? 
• How can we leverage data and technology to improve the targeting of anti-poverty interventions so that the most vulnerable are not left behind? 

The Clinton Global Initiative has a long history of supporting innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world aiming to make a positive difference. In its early days, CGI was one of the first promoters of the role of the private sector in developing innovative solutions that could be brought to scale. At CGI’s 2022 Meeting, we are launching the CGI Greenhouse, programming designed to support socially-minded entrepreneurs and innovators. 

More than 100 non-profit and for-profit social impact enterprises applied to be a part of this first-ever CGI Entrepreneurship Greenhouse. At CGI’s 2022 Meeting, the 19 finalists will present to an audience of potential partners and funders including Fortune 500 companies, large private and corporate foundations, family offices, and impact investors ready to implement their products and services. The CGI Entrepreneurship Greenhouse will not only identify opportunities to build out these social impact programs, but also provide operational support and opportunities to showcase their work throughout the meeting. 

THE PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS WE CAN NO LONGER IGNORE: HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO PREVENT OVERDOSE DEATHS

With economic upheaval, stresses on public health infrastructure, and the COVID-19 pandemic creating gaps in communities’ support systems, people with substance use disorders are facing tougher struggles, and deaths due to drugs, alcohol, and suicide have reached record highs in the United States. As this problem has worsened, well-intentioned but siloed efforts to address addiction and overdose have led to disjointed approaches. However, glimmers of hope have begun to emerge in local communities as police, fire, and EMS respond to overdoses with mental health and addiction counselors in tow; peer recovery coaches proactively engage people in emergency rooms; and workplaces become “recovery friendly.” Across a variety of sectors, a reckoning has begun – the realization that they cannot solve these challenges on their own.  

This session will explore:  

• How can we create a comprehensive continuum of care that includes prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and mental health support?  
• How can we develop policies to address substance use disorders that bring together resources from across sectors?  
• How can we create, replicate, and scale partnerships across health care, public health, law enforcement, and community support organizations? 

A PIVOTAL WINDOW FOR REPRODUCTIVE AND MATERNAL HEALTH: HOW WE CAN LEAD THE VANGUARD FOR AVAILABILITY, AGENCY, AND ACCESS

This is a critical moment for reproductive and maternal health around the world. In recent years, preventable maternal deaths have increased; global resources devoted to comprehensive reproductive and maternal health have remained woefully inadequate; and access to these critical services is increasingly being threatened and outright curtailed. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision was a massive setback to reproductive rights and the world is watching to see what will happen next. The pandemic, climate change, and humanitarian crises are worsening already massive inequities that threaten the health and well-being of people around the world. Despite the challenges, partnerships across the private sector, civil society, government, and the advocacy community can lead the vanguard with solutions centered on clinical innovation, policy change, and shifting culture. 

This session will explore: 

• How can we accelerate solutions to improve maternal and reproductive health, including new technologies, policies, and service delivery? 
• How can we address pressing global challenges, such as climate change and food insecurity, in ways that recognize the impact on maternal and reproductive health? 
• How do we develop cross-sector partnerships to accelerate progress toward achieving comprehensive maternal and reproductive health, access, and rights? 

A FAST AND FAIR CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION: HOW WE CAN UNLOCK CAPITAL FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION IN AN EQUITABLE AND JUST WAY

To reach net zero global emissions by 2050 and avert the worst impacts of climate change, the world will need to deploy clean energy technologies much more rapidly. This will require a massive surge in public and private investment across mature, clean technologies and early-stage and breakthrough solutions. Support for clean energy innovation and transition is especially critical for emerging and developing economies as they try to reconcile poverty alleviation and economic growth with global decarbonization goals. Proven strategies – from investment in local research and innovation to knowledge and technology transfer – can help countries advance cleantech solutions tailored to their specific needs and take the lead in determining their own energy future. 

This session will explore: 

• How can the public and private sectors work together to unlock capital for innovation and create markets for new clean technologies and businesses? 
• How can we fund and strengthen local energy innovation ecosystems in emerging and developing economies? 
• How can we center equity and justice in deep decarbonization efforts? 

PHILANTHROPY MEETING THE MOMENT: HOW WE CAN TRANSFORM GIVING AND GRANTMAKING FOR EQUITY, JUSTICE, AND IMPACT

Since 2020, the global philanthropic community has faced urgent, intersecting needs at a level never before seen. An ongoing pandemic, increasing health and wealth disparities, an urgent reckoning of racial injustices, a worsening global refugee crisis, and worldwide conflicts have all demanded bolder action from funders and forced the philanthropic sector to reckon with questions of its effectiveness, legitimacy, and role in reinforcing structural inequalities. Grantmaking models centered on justice, participation, and trust can help address the inherent power imbalance in the donor-grantee relationship and shift agency to the communities served. 

This session will explore: 

• How can philanthropic actors assess their efforts to avoid reinforcing unjust systems? 
• How do trust-based philanthropy and participatory philanthropy work in practice, and what are the implications for donors and grantees? 
• How can these approaches be reconciled with other models like strategic philanthropy or venture philanthropy? 

AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY: HOW WE CAN SUPPORT UNDERSERVED ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

The pandemic has had a devastating impact on small businesses, especially in underserved and underrepresented communities. These populations are already constrained by limited access to capital, lower digital connectivity, and weaker entrepreneurial infrastructure. According to a recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey, women-owned businesses around the world were 20 percent more likely to report a closure due to the pandemic. In the United States, minority-owned businesses also suffered temporary or permanent closures at disproportionately higher rates. However, there are promising signs of entrepreneurial vitality and innovation. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by small businesses, and new business formation is surging, particularly in the United States, where online microbusinesses are booming, fueled by women and people of color. 

This session will explore: 

• How can we expand access to flexible working capital for entrepreneurs and small businesses facing entrenched gender, racial, and geographic disparities? 
• How can we leverage fintech and alternative investment models like revenue-based investing or profit-sharing to spur a more equitable recovery? 
• How can we strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems in underserved geographies? 

“ONCE AND FOR ALL”

After decades of progress for women around the globe, there has been a stark reversal of this trend in recent years. Governments around the globe are rolling back rights once taken for granted. Global crises – from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change – are landing disproportionately on women, in particular women of color and LGBTQ+ communities, and jeopardizing shared gains in economic prosperity and social stability.  

Although these setbacks are real, collective action can prevent them from becoming permanent. There are more tools and opportunities than ever before for women across the globe to access education. Studies show women are outperforming men in the classroom, and businesses recognize that their talent pool is increasingly female. Women are gaining roles in leadership positions, while women-owned businesses receive more investment than ever before. Yet critical work remains to restore and advance this progress, with actions for all to contribute. This session will explore how a new wave of female leadership is poised to fight these threats to everyone’s rights and prosperity, and, once and for all, codify a world where women’s rights are human rights.