The Astellas Global Health Foundation is an international philanthropic organization dedicated to making a sustainable impact on the health of people around the world and building toward “One World, A Healthier Tomorrow.” Launched in November 2018, the Astellas Global Health Foundation supports initiatives in the most underserved communities within low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence.
Our specific areas of focus include:
In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a bold commitment: WHO and like-minded organizations will work to reach zero deaths from avoidable deaths due to diseases. The Astellas Global Health Foundation joins this mission to end epidemics in underserved communities by the year 2030. Join us in building One World, A Healthier Tomorrow.
*The Astellas Global Health Foundation merged three Astellas philanthropic entities in November 2018 – the Astellas USA Foundation (AUSF), the Astellas European Foundation (AEF), and the Astellas Asia-Oceanic Foundation (AAOF) into one organization.
The Astellas Global Health Foundation seeks to address the challenges in three key areas of urgent medical need for significantly underserved communities in low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence: (1) improving access to health, (2) building resilient communities, and (3) providing disaster support.
We are proud to partner with organizations like the END Fund to improve access to treatment for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in support of WHO goals for control and elimination of NTDs in low-income populations.
The Astellas Global Health Foundation contributed $750,000 to the END Fund in 2019 to combat neglected tropical diseases in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This investment from the Foundation enabled the END Fund to increase its programming designed to control and eliminate the five most common neglected tropical diseases in a country faced with one of the highest burdens of NTDs in the world.
The Astellas Global Health Foundation also aims to combat communicable diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) that are prevalent in developing countries and low-income populations. Stay tuned for additional funding updates.
100% OF LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES ARE AFFECTED BY AT LEAST FIVE NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES SIMULTANEOUSLY
WHO Infectious Diseases: www.who.int/topics/infectious_diseases/en/
75% of those affected by mental, neurological
and substance use disorders in many
low-income countries do not have access to
the treatment they need
WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP):
www.who.int/mental_health/mhgap/en
With the growing prevalence of mental illness among some of the most vulnerable populations, the Astellas Global Health Foundation supports efforts to improve access to mental health for low-income patients and caregivers in low- and middle-income countries. The Foundation also seeks to address the lack of proper diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and related conditions.
In 2019, the Foundation provided a $1.35 million grant over three years to the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), under the direction of the Indiana University Center for Global Health, with the expected impact to provide 400,000 people with mental health support in western Kenya. With the Foundation grant, AMPATH is integrating mental health services into its chronic disease system in public health facilities and broaden population engagement through a mental health awareness campaign. Additionally, AMPATH is developing group transitional housing and care for patients with severe mental health disorders.
Additional Foundation work aligns with providing funding to organizations that seek to help improve access to medicines, nutrition, vaccines and other measures to children in need. Through its support, the Foundation seeks to have long-term impact on the health of children given the high child mortality rates in low- and middle-income communities.
Among its initial investments in this area, the Astellas Global Health Foundation awarded a nearly $700,000 grant over two years in 2019 to UNICEF USA’s Mothers and Babies in Good Care Initiative in the Dominican Republic. According to the World Health Organization, women and newborns are most vulnerable during and immediately following childbirth.1 Approximately 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns die every year, or one every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes.2 In the Dominican Republic, 29.9 of every 1,000 live births results in a death prior to the age five.3
The Foundation grant is designed to help UNICEF USA address this critical treatment gap. The program interventions have focused on decreasing avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths at Dominican Republic hospitals by increasing the level of compliance with quality standards in antenatal care, labor, birth, newborn attention and breastfeeding promotion. Additionally, the program is providing protection for the most vulnerable by promoting birth registration, which is essential for the future health and wellbeing of newborns, who need proof of citizenship to access health, education and other social benefits.
1WHO | Data for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. [Internet]. WHO. [Accessed on 2/3/20]. Available from: https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/data/en/
2WHO | Data for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. [Internet]. WHO. [Accessed on 2/3/20]. Available from: https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/data/en/
3UNICEF | UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women. [Internet]. UNICEF. [Accessed on 2/3/20]. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/country/dom/
Access to simple, affordable interventions
could have saved the lives of more than
3.1 million children in 2017
WHO Factsheet: Children: reducing mortality www.who.int/news-room/
fact-sheets/detail/children-reducing-morality
Astellas Global Health Foundation funding is also enabling selected organizations’ efforts to: develop and strengthen inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure within cities and other communities, particularly those in the hardest-to-reach geographies; and support the training and education of workers providing care and education to underserved populations within communities. The Foundation also is providing disaster support, including preparedness, training, education and relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Astellas Global Health Foundation awarded Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, with $600K in 2019 to support its heath and resiliency programming in rural El Salvador, a region with barriers that often keep many families from accessing the healthcare they need. Foundation funding will help to ensure Americares can continue providing quality health services for vulnerable families, training to better prepare rural health centers for future disasters and community outreach programs that bring health services to patients where they live.
Additional information on Astellas Global Health Foundation funding in these areas will be available in the future.
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