FAQs


1. What is the Astellas Global Health Foundation (AGHF)?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation (“Foundation”) is an international philanthropic organization dedicated to improving access to health, building resilient communities, and providing disaster support in underserved global communities in order to make a sustainable impact on the health of people around the world and build toward “One World, A Healthier Tomorrow.”

2. Where does the Astellas Global Health Foundation focus its funding?

Launched in November 2018, the Astellas Global Health Foundation is committed to supporting initiatives that address access to health barriers, build resilient communities, and provide disaster support for the most underserved in low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence.

3. What types of projects does the Astellas Global Health Foundation fund?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation is primarily focused on supporting low- and middle-income communities in three key areas:

  • Improving access to health: The Foundation is focused on providing grants to strengthen health infrastructure as well as enhance availability and accessibility of healthcare for: (1) mental health; (2) neglected tropical and communicable disease care and treatment (e.g., HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, among others); and (3) children’s health; to help make a positive long-term impact on the world’s most vulnerable populations.
  • Building community resilience: The Foundation is focused on proactively tackling major health challenges and minimizing avoidable deaths through infrastructure strengthening, systems improvements and training initiatives.
  • Providing disaster preparedness support: The Foundation is committed to helping improve: (1) disaster preparedness, surveillance and response and reduce suffering caused by natural disasters (e.g., creating data and information collection systems that will monitor health risks posed by natural disasters); (2) surveillance and monitoring of biological emergencies (e.g., COVID-19, and potential health threats, such as SARS, influenza and cholera); and, (3) initiatives that otherwise provide disaster support through preparedness, surveillance and/or response.

For more information on recent grants, please visit the Latest News Page.

4. What regions qualify for potential Astellas Global Health Foundation support?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation primarily funds initiatives to support the most underserved communities in low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence. Click here for a list of Astellas offices/subsidiaries.

5. How does the Astellas Global Health Foundation decide what initiatives to support?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation proactively seeks out organizations and initiatives that align with its goals and considers partnerships with those organizations. Once selected organizations are determined, the Foundation issues a request for proposal to inform its funding decisions. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.

6. What investments has the Astellas Global Health Foundation made?

In total, the Foundation has awarded more than $35 million in worldwide funding over 15 years. This includes more than $10 million in new grants since the Foundation’s launch in November 2018 and previous grants awarded by the three former Astellas philanthropic entities that merged to form the AGHF – the Astellas USA Foundation (AUSF), the Astellas European Foundation (AEF), and the Astellas Asia-Oceanic Foundation (AAOF).

In 2023, The Foundation provided $2.6 million to three world-leading organizations with plans to include making a sustained impact on improving access to healthcare in Kenya, community resilience in Yemen, and disaster support in Peru.

In 2022, the Astellas Global Health Foundation provided $2.3 million in combined grants to five charitable organizations focused on improving access to health and building community resilience for people in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda. Read the announcement.

In 2021, the Astellas Global Health Foundation funded grants to five organizations totaling $1.85 million in new funding for urgent projects helping improve access to health and build community resilience – including COVID-19 vaccine education and support – for hard-to-reach populations within Nepal, Honduras, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Venezuela. Funds supported initiatives impacting more than 4 million people in these regions to help them lead healthier lives. Learn more.

In 2020, the Astellas Global Health Foundation granted a combined $2 million in emergency funding to help strengthen the COVID-19 response in underserved communities. Grants to CARE, International Medical Corps, the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning and World Vision support projects to prevent the immediate spread and long-term effects of COVID-19 in hard-to-reach communities in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Additionally, a portion of funds previously awarded to AMPATH and UNICEF were reallocated to help support COVID-19 efforts in western Kenya and the Dominican Republic, respectively.

In 2019, the Astellas Global Health Foundation awarded its inaugural $3.4 million to support health and resiliency programming led by Americares, and access to health grants to the END Fund, The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) through the Indiana University Center for Global Health, and UNICEF USA.

Learn more about our previously awarded grants and impact in the Foundation’s News section.

7. How can an organization apply for funding?

Only selected organizations that have been invited to apply for funding through our Request for Proposal Process will be eligible to submit a funding request through the online portal.

8. What is considered a grant?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation considers a grant to be financial funding provided without a tangible benefit or commercial motive to external organizations to support specific scientific, education, research, or community-focused charitable activities to advance and improve patient health and outcomes. In this context, grants do not include independent medical education grants or research grants.

9. Where is the Astellas Global Health Foundation headquartered?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation is based in the United States and operates internationally, in countries where Astellas does not have a business presence.

10. What are eligibility requirements?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation is primarily focused on grants for projects and initiatives that address access to health barriers, build resilient communities, and provide disaster preparedness support for the most underserved communities in low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence.

These include:

  1. Addressing barriers to access to health -- including strengthening health infrastructure as well as enhancing availability and accessibility of healthcare for mental health, neglected tropical and communicable diseases (such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, among others), and children’s health
  2. Building community resilience in proactively tackling major health challenges and minimizing avoidable deaths through proactive infrastructure strengthening, systems improvements and training initiatives
  3. Providing disaster support to help improve preparedness, surveillance and response and reduce suffering caused by natural disasters and related biological emergencies

We are committed to funding established non-governmental organizations (NGOs)/non-profit organizations (NPOs) with a proven track record of addressing access to health within our categories and geographies of interest, as well as robust methods of measuring impact. Grants may only be directed to organizations that have been deemed in good faith to be a public charity or private operating organization (e.g., as described in section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, or equivalent in markets outside the U.S.).

11. Is there anything that would prevent and/or delay a grant from being considered?

Yes. The Astellas Global Health Foundation will primarily fund grants that support access to health in the areas outlined above. The Foundation will only support philanthropic initiatives that are separate from Astellas’ commercial interests. The Foundation will not fund any grants to any Astellas customers, including healthcare providers or medical societies, nor will the Foundation fund grants in countries where Astellas has a business presence. In addition, the Foundation will not fund grants that fall within the categories listed below.

12. What types of projects won’t the Astellas Global Health Foundation fund?

The Astellas Global Health Foundation will not fund:

  • Programs and/or organizations based in North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Crimea or Iran;
  • Sponsorships and exhibits;
  • Corporate memberships (e.g., trade associations);
  • Investigator Sponsored Research (ISR) of Astellas marketed products or Investigator Initiated Trials (IIT) for compounds in development;
  • Independent Medical Education (IME) grants;
  • Product donations;
  • Not-for-profit patient assistance groups/foundations;
  • Galas, golf outings, luncheons or dinners;
  • Organizations outside countries covered by the scope of the Foundation;
  • Continuing medical education (CME) grants or educational activities for healthcare professionals or patients;
  • Professional medical associations or societies;
  • U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) organizations that are public charities by virtue of being described in Section 509(a)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code;
  • U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) organizations that are private foundations;
    Individuals, including academic scholarships for individuals;
  • Medical fellowships or residencies;
  • Endowments;
  • Political organizations established under U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 527;
  • Lobbying activities;
  • Contributions to political candidates, political parties or political action committees (PACs);
  • Religious groups for religious purposes;
  • Applied research in any area;
  • Basic research in Astellas therapeutic areas of interest;
  • General operating expenses;
  • Capital campaigns;
  • Proposals that could be viewed as promoting the sale, distribution, or development of any Astellas product;
  • Grants provided to individual representatives of charitable organizations;
  • Requests from excluded or debarred organizations;
  • Requests from organizations with indirect administrative costs totaling more than 15% of total funds of the program being funded;
  • Grants provided with the intent to influence an organization’s mission or advocacy position; or
    Requests for unrestricted funding.

13. If my grant is approved, does the Astellas Global Health Foundation require any sort of acknowledgment?

Yes. The Astellas Global Health Foundation requires a signed letter of acceptance and ongoing progress reports, including annual reconciliation reports, throughout the duration of the grant. We also request that the Foundation name be included in recognition of the initiative.

14. What is reconciliation and how will I know when it is due?

Financial reconciliation consists of detailed activity expenditure documentation, which outlines that funds were used for the approved activity. Note: All financial/outcome reconciliations must be completed prior to the review of new grant request submissions.

15. Is the Astellas Global Health Foundation accepting proposals or requests for funding?

The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding. The Foundation engages in a rigorous Request for Proposal (RFP) process which includes research on non-governmental organizations and selects a certain number of organizations to solicit during its RFP process. The Foundation supports initiatives that improve access to health, build community resilience, and provide disaster preparedness support for the most underserved communities in low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence. These include:

  1. Addressing barriers to access to health -- including strengthening health infrastructure as well as enhancing availability and accessibility of healthcare for mental health, neglected tropical and communicable diseases (such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, among others), and children’s health
  2. Building community resilience in proactively tackling major health challenges, including COVID-19, and minimizing avoidable deaths through proactive infrastructure strengthening, systems improvements and training initiatives
  3. Providing disaster support to help improve preparedness, surveillance and response and reduce suffering caused by natural disasters and related biological emergencies