Northbrook-Connected Foundation Provides $2.6M in Grants

Astellas Global Health Foundation (“Foundation”), with US headquarters in Northbrook, recently announced it has awarded three new grants for a combined $2.6 million to non-profit organizations working to make a sustained impact on improving access to health in Kenya, strengthening community resilience in Yemen, and providing disaster support in Peru.

The selected organizations -- International Medical Corps, PATH, and Plan International -- are expected to use the Foundation grants to impact nearly 750,000 lives combined over the next three years. This latest funding, in addition to active grants in progress with Amref Health Africa and AMPATH Kenya, reinforces the Foundation’s objective to help high-need populations within low- and middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence.

New Grants Help Selected Organizations Increase their Impact:

• International Medical Corps: The Foundation has provided a one-year, $345,000 grant to help International Medical Corps address severe humanitarian and healthcare crises in Yemen. Efforts will include strengthening healthcare infrastructure and building resilience in 10 vulnerable and hard-to-reach Yemeni communities (projected impact: more than 60,000 lives). This is the third grant the Foundation has provided to support International Medical Corps’ initiatives intending to save lives and reduce suffering through International Medical Corps’ healthcare training, relief and development programs. In 2020 and 2021, the Foundation supported the organization’s important work fighting COVID-19 in Nigeria and malaria and dengue in Venezuela.Learn moreLearn more.
• PATH: The Foundation has awarded a three-year grant of more than $1.6 million to help PATH address HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) healthcare delivery barriers in Kenya. PATH’s comprehensive efforts will strengthen community and primary care approaches to efficiently deliver HIV/AIDS and TB services in areas with urgent treatment access needs with plans to impact a projected 605,000 lives. The grant will also see supply chain strengthening activities to ensure the availability of high-quality commodities and tools for community health units.
• Plan International: The Foundation has given a $690,000 grant over two years to help Plan address the health impact of ongoing weather emergencies in Peru’s northeastern Loreto region. This funding intends to help Plan provide support when disasters occur, reduce the risk of critical illnesses, and improve the lives of children and others in hard-to-reach and vulnerable communities. Among the more than 15,000 community members and others expected to be reached will be the Mestizo people and indigenous groups who have been severely impacted by flooding and other climate change-related weather events.

“This year’s grant recipients are an enduring reflection of the Foundation’s thoughtful dedication to partnerships that enable a positive and sustainable impact on the health and well-being of people worldwide,” said Shingo Iino, Ph.D., President of the Astellas Global Health Foundation. “These grants also build on our commitment to supporting partner-driven efforts that offer meaningful solutions to help improve access to healthcare, build community resilience and strengthen disaster support in underserved communities.”

Among highlights, the grant to PATH is the first to focus on HIV/AIDS since the Foundation’s inception, and the first one in support of supply chain strengthening, an area the Foundation has particular interest in. “It is critical to address the continued systemic challenges affecting the response to HIV/AIDS and TB in East Africa,” said Dr. Edward Karlithi, Director of Programs, Kenya, of PATH. “We are grateful for the new funding from the Astellas Global Health Foundation, which will enable us to make swift and sustained strides in strengthening deeply needed HIV/AIDS and TB service delivery at the community level with subsequent benefit throughout Kenya and East African nations.”

Additional Foundation Grants Continue to Support Access to Healthcare Needs:
Amref Health Africa: The Foundation is in its second year of providing Amref Health Africa with almost $1.7 million over three years to help improve access to health for children in Senegal, specifically in the Kolda and Sédhiou regions where low immunization rates, lack of qualified health care workers and scarcity of food and clean water have combined to cause high infant and child mortality rates. The grant is helping Amref train and deploy skilled health workers and expand access points for child health services in these under-resourced regions of Senegal, impacting an estimated 340,000 children.Learn more.

AMPATH Kenya:The Foundation is in the second year of providing $1.07 million over two years in a grant to help AMPATH expand access to mental health and substance abuse services for more than 200,000 people in western Kenya to receive critical medical support and live as valued and respected members of their communities. This funding follows an initial $1.35 million, three-year grant in early 2020 to help AMPATH build and launch the MTRH Nawiri Recovery & Skills Centre, the first recovery home and skills center in Kenya for men and women with severe mental illness. Additionally, the earlier grant supported capacity building and mentorship of healthcare workers in primary care settings and COVID-19 response assistance.Learn more.
Programs that receive Foundation funding are designed and implemented by non-profit organizations and are in alignment with the Foundation’s Social Contribution Policy and corporate sustainability focus on improving access to health. Success is defined by each program’s ability to make a meaningful impact and actively contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.1

About the Astellas Global Health Foundation
The Astellas Global Health Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit corporation that awards grants to support charitable purposes with a focus on improving access to health in underserved global communities, building resilient communities and providing disaster support in order to make a sustainable impact on the health of people around the world, working toward “One World, A Healthier Tomorrow.” The Foundation’s grants are made to charitable programs outside of Astellas Pharma Inc.’s (Astellas) therapeutic areas, in low- to middle-income countries where Astellas does not have a business presence, and in alignment with Astellas’ corporate sustainability focus on Access to Health and consistent commitment to making a sustainable impact on the health of vulnerable populations around the world. To learn more about the Astellas Global Health Foundation please visit www.astellasglobalhealthfoundation.org, LinkedIn , Facebook or X.