Programs

The Abbott Fund is partnering with several organizations to expand access to health care for mothers and children affected by HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Since 2001, more than 1 million children and adults have received services in Burkina Faso, India, Kenya, Malawi, Romania, Tanzania and Uganda. The Abbott Fund supported the Baylor College of Medicine in establishing a pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment program in Romania that reduced the death rate for children with HIV in the program by more than 90%.

Since 2007, Partners In Health coordinated a heart failure treatment and prevention initiative in two district hospitals in Rwanda (Rwinkwavu and Kirehe). The heart failure treatment program supports nurse-driven clinics providing routine heart exams and medications, daily patient home visits by community health care workers, and collaboration with cardiac surgical teams. In 2008, Abbott provided the Cardiac Health Initiative with Abbott's i-STAT handheld analyzer, which provides clinic staff with rapid results for commonly ordered medical tests.

Years of civil war have had a devastating impact on the health and lives of women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country suffers from one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, at 1,100 deaths per 100,000 live births, the third highest infant mortality rate in Africa at 129 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 67% of pregnant women are anemic.

The Abbott Fund and the Government of Tanzania have formed a unique public-private partnership to modernize the country's health care system. The Abbott Fund has invested more than USD 60 million aimed at enhancing access to health care on a national scale. Today, one in three Tanzanians with HIV taking antiretroviral therapy receive services at a facility that has benefited from Abbott Fund support. Work is being conducted across the country, including significant work at Muhimbili National Hospital, the country's leading teaching and referral hospital.

Since 2006, Abbott and the Abbott Fund have partnered with Direct Relief International to support the education and outreach activities of Centro Vivir Con Diabetes, a non-governmental organization dedicated to low-income adults and children living with both type I and type II diabetes in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The Abbott Fund has provided grants to support diabetes education, expand public outreach campaigns, train health care personnel in diabetes management, and establish and expand the number of core diabetes educators.

The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation helps develop new concepts and tools to control the global TB epidemic. Today the organization focuses solely on developing new vaccines against TB and ensuring their availability to all who need them.

In 2006, Novartis' Consumer Health and Sandoz divisions launched an initiative in India to address the neglected health needs of rural populations. The Arogya Parivar (healthy family) program started with pilot sites in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. It combines healthcare education with access to affordable medicines through local pharmacies. The initiative aims to build a sustainable business that improves access to healthcare among the underserved millions in rural India by providing locally available and affordable health solutions.

Associação Saude Da Familia (ASF) mobilizes community support in poor favelas in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to protect young people from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. This includes raising awareness and spreading information about HIV/AIDS. In these teeming slums, where drugs and violent crime are a constant reminder of the fragility of civil societies, ASF works with local community leaders, and municipal and state governments, to implement its programs to encourage safer and healthier behaviour.

Since 2006, AstraZeneca has supported the Red Cross in its community-based work to help reduce TB incidence and improve the quality of life of people affected by TB and TB/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. With AstraZeneca's support, the South African Red Cross is delivering improved care and support to people living with TB or TB/HIV in 10 provinces, including the KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Gauteng and Free State.

The AstraZeneca Bangalore Research Institute in India combines TB research and manufacturing capabilities.

AstraZeneca's product donation and patient assistance programs make its medicines available to those who cannot afford them, either free-of-charge or at reduced prices. In 2009, AstraZeneca donated a total of USD 786 million in product. The total spend on charitable contributions was USD 96 million (this includes the figure for 'employee commitment' which is defined as 'total company spend to support employee working days committed to company endorsed community activities'. The Employee Commitment figure does not represent a value assigned to the employee time committed).

In 2007, Bayer HealthCare, in partnership with local authorities and charitable organizations, started the first patient access program for Nexavar (sorafenib) in Asia for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and is planning further implementation in this region. Bayer HealthCare donates its medicine Nexavar to facilitate access for patients who cannot afford the cost of a full course of therapy. In 2008, Bayer HealthCare initiated another patient access program for Nexavar, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, after its approval for this indication.