“Bridging gaps in care is about ensuring everyone has an optimal chance to achieve optimal health. Regardless of your zip code, where you live, work, or play, you should have that chance.”

Health disparities remain one of the most persistent challenges in global health care. They disproportionately impact at-risk populations and those facing barriers to medical care. Josette Gbemudu, Executive Director of Health Equity at Merck, a global pharmaceutical company, is working hard to tackle these challenges. Advancing access to health is a cornerstone principle of Merck’s strategy, illustrating how business goals can connect with making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.  In this conversation with Josette, we explore her journey, the importance of health policies, Merck’s initiatives to close gaps in care, and how her passion drives the impactful projects she leads.  

A Lifelong Dedication to Health Policy and Healthcare Access

Josette started her journey believing in the power of policy to create sustainable healthcare systems. With a bachelor’s degree in Health Policy and Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in International Health Policy from the London School of Economics, she wanted to understand how healthcare systems are designed, financed and improved across the globe. “I always wanted to understand what makes the right policy, the right policy. How do you really think about enabling access broadly speaking?” she reflected.

Josette encountered a transformative moment during a pivotal health policy fellowship at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. The U.S. healthcare system had just introduced significant legislation to shift the focus from volume-based care to value-based care — a change designed to reward quality and outcomes. “There was a part in that legislation that really called for creating the right incentives to shift the U.S. health care system from one that rewarded purely on volume to one that rewarded on value and quality,” she explained. This sparked her passion for ensuring that all populations could benefit from such innovations, particularly those traditionally excluded from the system.

Merck’s Commitment to Advancing Access to Healthcare

Merck has long focused on enabling access to health into its organisational DNA. Under Josette’s leadership, the company has taken a holistic approach to addressing disparities. “It is about ensuring that everyone has an optimal chance to achieve optimal health,” Josette emphasised. “Regardless of your zip code, where you live, work or play, you should have that chance.”

Merck aligns this vision with its Access to Health pillar, which sets clear goals. By 2025, the company aims to enable 350 million more people to access its innovations, advance access to healthcare for 50 million individuals in underserved regions and expand its global footprint. These ambitious targets reflect Merck’s dual approach: leveraging both social investments and core business capabilities.

“We think about health holistically — not just access to medicines and vaccines but access to care broadly,” Josette said. Recognising that many barriers go beyond medical treatment, Merck is working to support capacity building in local communities, infrastructure development within health care systems and culturally sensitive communication strategies. This comprehensive approach is essential, especially for populations living in rural areas where travelling long distances to see a provider can be a significant barrier.

Collaborating to Break Down Barriers

One of the key pillars of Merck’s strategy is collaboration with stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem. “We work with providers to ensure they are equipped to understand who is seeking care, who isn’t and what they could do differently to support their patients,” Josette explained. By analysing data to identify disparities and designing targeted interventions, Merck is helping bridge gaps in access.

Collaboration extends beyond the public sector. Josette highlighted a growing trend where public and private sectors are working together to tackle global health challenges. “In the past, people primarily looked to the public sector for solutions,” she said. “But there’s a growing recognition of the tools, solutions and reach the private sector brings to the table.” This joint effort includes health system strengthening, capacity building and demand generation — all crucial for addressing health inequities.

Josette also emphasised the importance of intra-country health equity, particularly in high-income nations. While much attention has been given to disparities in lower- and middle-income countries, high-income countries face their own challenges. “In the U.S., for instance, specific sub-populations face higher socioeconomic barriers and are disproportionately affected by certain diseases,” she explained. This has led to innovative solutions addressing geographic and demographic disparities within wealthier nations.

Redefining the Role of Business in Social Impact

A key aspect of Josette’s vision is breaking down the misconception that efforts for equal access to healthcare belong solely within philanthropy. “I think a lot of people view it as goodwill work, something that sits in the foundation,” she noted. “But I’m here to push the idea that it can and should be integrated into business priorities.”

Josette sees championing access to healthcare as a form of social entrepreneurship that can drive business growth by reaching underserved populations. “By supporting individuals with high unmet needs, you not only improve health outcomes but also create opportunities for business expansion,” she explained. This integration ensures that access to healthcare isn’t treated as a separate initiative but as a core component of Merck’s overall mission.

Measuring Impact and Sustaining Change

To achieve sustainable change, Josette emphasizes the importance of impact measurement. “If you don’t know what you’re measuring, you don’t know what you’re changing,” she said. Merck uses data-driven approaches to assess the effectiveness of its interventions and continuously refine its strategies.

For Josette, collaboration is equally crucial. “It’s a lot harder to stand alone on an island than to stand with others,” she said. By working closely with other organisations, Merck ensures its efforts align with broader systemic changes.

As global health challenges evolve, Josette sees opportunities for innovation and collaboration to address disparities. “High-income countries are now recognising their own health equity and access challenges, which opens the door for innovative solutions,” she observed. This shift in perspective could lead to new models of care and partnerships that benefit populations worldwide.

A Message for Aspiring Change Makers

For those seeking to make an impact, Josette offers this advice: “Stay focused, stay committed, and be a strong collaborator. Don’t do it alone. And always measure your impact to ensure that what you’re doing is making a difference.”

Through her work at Merck, Josette Gbemudu exemplifies how equal access to healthcare can be more than a social goal — it can be a strategic, scalable, and sustainable force for good. As she puts it, “By understanding our patients better and addressing their barriers, we are not only improving lives but also advancing our mission of putting patients first.”

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This is part of our ChangeLeaders interview series with corporate impact leaders sharing their journeys, learnings, and lessons from making an impact in the corporate world. If you are a ChangeLeader we should interview, please email us at info@wemakechange.org.

Interview & Article: James Sancto & Laura De Alba