Now in its 3rd year, ACT on Health Equity contributions support AstraZeneca’s US
long-term ambition in health equity
AstraZeneca today announced more than $3.3 million in financial contributions to 46 nonprofit organizations as part of its US Accelerate Change Together (ACT) on Health Equity: Community Solutions Challenge and National Strategic Collaborations. In its third year, ACT contributions are supporting US nonprofit programs aimed at improving conditions that affect community health and wellbeing including housing, environmental and neighborhood safety, nutrition, and access to care; and increasing access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and career readiness for historically excluded and disenfranchised populations.
“Advancing health equity in the US requires cross-sector partnership and community-based solutions to address the most pressing barriers medically-underserved communities face,” said Mohit Manrao, Senior Vice President, Head of US Oncology, AstraZeneca. “These new financial contributions demonstrate our long-term commitment in health equity and are just one of the ways we are contributing to lasting change for communities across the US.”
AstraZeneca’s ACT on Health Equity: Community Solutions Challenge has awarded 36 local and regional nonprofits $25,000 each, for a total of $900K. The funding is supporting tailored solutions to help reduce barriers to care and address the impact of social determinants of health. This includes providing housing for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, reducing food insecurity and waste, and creating pathways to successful careers in STEM for youth in underserved communities.
Through its National Strategic Collaborations, 10 nonprofits also received a total of $2.4 million to support national and regional health equity programming where AstraZeneca has presence and expertise including asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, rare disease and oncology. The programming is applying a health equity lens to help eliminate barriers that prevent underserved populations from achieving their best health outcomes, including leveraging home-based testing technology, providing nutrition outreach, and identifying suitable donors for transplants and cell therapy.
Recipients were chosen based on several criteria including their ability to create measurable and sustainable impact toward health equity. Support provided is part of AstraZeneca US efforts to advance health equity by aligning nonprofit collaborations and commitments to prioritize equitable access, affordability and outcomes.
“We believe everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy life,” said Horace Clark, Vice President of Account Management at BlackDoctor Foundation and 2023 Community Solutions Challenge recipient. “With the continued support of AstraZeneca, our goal is to ensure no one is prevented from achieving their greatest potential due to their social position, economic limits or racial injustice.”
To learn more about the 2023 recipients, visit our AZ&You Blog.
For more information on AstraZeneca US Community Investments, click here.
About AstraZeneca ACT on Health Equity
AstraZeneca is driven by our purpose to deliver life-changing medicines to all patients, yet systemic barriers prevent millions of Americans from achieving their best possible health outcomes. As part of our global sustainability efforts, in 2021 we created Accelerate Change Together (ACT) on Health Equity, a US enterprise-wide initiative informed by independent cross-sector experts and built on our core values, to continually transform the way we do business to improve access, affordability and outcomes for all people in the disease areas and communities we serve. The initiative includes a first-of-its-kind Health Equity Advisory Council, comprised of a distinguished group of external community leaders, academics, healthcare professionals, nonprofit executives and AstraZeneca leaders, who provide independent insights and ongoing expertise in health equity. For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com/actonhealthequity.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries, and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com and follow us on social media @AstraZeneca.
Media Inquiries
Brendan McEvoy Miranda Kulp |
|
+1 302 885 2677 +1 302 885 2677 |
US Media Mailbox: usmediateam@astrazeneca.com