AstraZeneca is proud to announce $4 million in financial contributions to 52 nonprofit organizations through its second-annual Accelerate Change Together (ACT) on Health Equity: Community Solutions Challenge and National Strategic Collaborations. Building on the learnings and impact from its inaugural year, the 2022 contributions will support community-based, regional and national nonprofit programs working to advance health equity and enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics) among historically excluded and disenfranchised populations in the US.
“At AstraZeneca we believe that it will take the entire healthcare system working together to advance health equity among under-resourced communities, Building on our efforts in 2021, this $4 million in new annual contributions is part of our long-term commitment to prioritize access, affordability and outcomes through all our strategic nonprofit collaborations. Our goal is to serve as a trusted community partner and ultimately help create lasting change where patients live, work, receive care and more.”
-Christie Bloomquist, Vice President, US Corporate and Government Affairs and President, AstraZeneca Foundation.
Following the submission of more than 1,000 applications to the second annual AstraZeneca ACT on Health Equity: Community Solutions Challenge, 38 community-based nonprofits were chosen to receive $25,000 each, for a total of nearly $1 million. The funding will support innovative solutions that address barriers to care and social determinants of health including social, emotional and academic support, healthcare worker training, disease education, services combating barriers such as transportation and food insecurity and STEM career and leadership skills training.
Fourteen national nonprofits received a total of $3 million to support national and regional health equity programming within the communities and therapeutic areas where AstraZeneca has presence and expertise including asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart failure, lupus and cancer. The national programming will help address key, widespread societal needs including healthcare workforce pipeline, community health empowerment and clinical trial diversity, with the goal of eliminating barriers that can lead to higher incidence of preventable conditions among under- resourced populations.
All 2022 funding recipients were chosen based on several criteria including their ability to create measurable and sustainable change toward health equity. All AstraZeneca health equity efforts are guided by our first-of-its-kind Health Equity Advisory Council (HEAC), an independent group of cross-sector leaders, established in 2021.
“The elimination of persistent health inequities is a pressing public health imperative, Community-based organizations often have innovative solutions but lack the resources to implement them. AZ’s leadership in this area is a model for how the private sector can expand its impact on the communities that they serve.”
-Dr. Thomas LaVeist, PhD, Dean, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and AstraZeneca HEAC member.
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.
About AstraZeneca Foundation:
The AstraZeneca (HealthCare) Foundation works to advance health equity and foster community wellbeing in the US through strategic grant-giving and capacity building support for nonprofit organizations. The Foundation also provides financial support for AstraZeneca employees affected by federally declared disasters in the US. Established in 1993 as a nonprofit charitable organization, the Foundation is a separate legal entity from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals with distinct legal restrictions.
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.