Expanding healthcare access one project at a time

Initiatives aiming to improve health equality on the national level identified by Philips offices in collaboration with local NGOs

Philips’ country offices identify projects that aim to provide sustainable impact and scalable solutions to reduce health inequality in disadvantaged communities through the use of Philips innovations and expertise. Guided by the Philips Foundation, these locally relevant initiatives are carried out in collaboration with NGOs. In 2019, the Philips Foundation approved the launch of 20 new market projects. Since the launch of the Philips Foundation in 2014, over 120 of these projects have been set up across the globe.

Poland – Annually, 18,000 women in Poland develop breast cancer while the waiting time for an ultrasound at public healthcare facilities can take up months. Thanks to respected partners, the Philips Foundation was able to secure 1,000 ultrasounds for women in Poland. In addition, workshops were organized for women living in rural areas on the importance of self-examination, alongside nationwide training of selected gynecologists to expand access to breast examinations up to 350,000 a year.

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Colombia – The Philips Foundation provided funds and equipment to support La Liga Contra el Cáncer in a campaign aimed at raising awareness for prostate cancer. In Colombia, more than thirty workshops were held, which aimed to educate communities on the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer and screen men for the disease. Education is important as prostate cancer in Colombia continues to increase over the years and has become one of the most common ailments in men over 60 years of age.

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Brazil – In partnership with the Philips Foundation, travelling project Living with ALS brought information and know-how to the people of São Paulo and four other cities who are affected by the disease. Living with ALS showed Brazilians that there is a way of life after being diagnosed with ALS. After one month traveling from São Paulo to the nearby cities, around 1,020 people in four municipalities were reached and registered, and an audience of 1.3 million were reached through the press, disseminating know-how about ALS.

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Japan – Work-related disorders constitute a major occupational and public health issue in Japan, since the country has some of the longest working hours in the world. A reason for the Philips Foundation to have organized and hosted events to improve the health of Japanese citizens by working closely with local governments in four prefectures: Sapporo, Yamanashi, Sendai and Okinawa. Each focusing on different health conditions that are less well known but can have significant impact on people's quality of life.

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United States – Teaming up with the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence, the Philips Foundation supported a project to help teach children the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Helped by volunteers from the Philips Andover site, the project educated more than 4,000 children living in Massachusetts, where most children fall below the poverty line, about oral healthcare, healthy cooking and the health benefits of exercising. Through a strong set of measureable outcomes, we helped this project achieve above national levels. As a result, the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence will share and scale this program across their network in the Unites States.
Turkey – More than 90% of children will survive with early diagnosis and the right treatment, yet most people are unaware of congenital heart disorder. Raising their awareness is important because the more people know about it, the more likely it is that we can improve their lives. This is why our Turkish organization has collaborated with the Children Heart Health Association to work on what has become an award-winning awareness campaign around congenital heart disease, featuring real life stories.

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United Kingdom – The Philips Foundation has launched the Clean Air for Schools program. A program that helps schools to improve air quality as well as to understand the impact of air pollution in schools by studying the varying levels of air quality in classrooms and how this affects children’s health and academic performance. Through tailor-made teaching resources that support the national curriculum and the installation of Philips air purifiers in classes, the Philips Foundation and partners monitor the changes in air quality.continues to increase over the years and has become one of the most common ailments in men over 60 years of age.

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Kenya – In commemoration of Heart Awareness Month, and World Heart Day on September 29, 2019, the Philips Foundation in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross is launched the third phase of its successful Back to Rhythm campaign - an education drive that’s been creating public awareness around cardiac health in Kenya, and increasing the chances of survival of victims of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) since 2017.

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China – While health services in urban areas continue to improve, many rural parts of the country remain truly underserved. Teaming up with local Chinese organizations and the Red Cross Society of China, the Philips Foundation started a project to train village doctors and local healthcare providers. Most remote villages in China lack local access to healthcare. Minor injuries and illnesses are treated with home remedies and major injuries require a trip on foot or bicycle to the nearest medical clinic. Over 2,000 village doctors have already received training in emergency care, covering millions of villages in Jiangxi, Anhui, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, and Ningxia provinces.
In Africa, through Philips France – Philips Foundation has teamed up with Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque (MCC) to identify and help children suffering from a heart condition in developing countries. The children are identified locally during so-called missions and sent to France for an operation. Starting in 2018 and throughout 2019, six missions took place in Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Madagascar. Thanks to the medical training organized once a year, the non-profit MCC has many medical collaborators in countries where pediatric cardiac surgery does not exist. The project has provided better access to heart disease diagnosis thanks to the donation of (mobile) ultrasound devices.
India – Every year, more than 140,000 children under five years of age die from pneumonia in India – a staggering one child every four minutes. Committed to addressing this silent emergency in the country, Philips India, Philips Foundation and Save the Children have joined forces to develop and prove low-cost innovative approaches for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of childhood pneumonia.

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Poland

Annually, 18,000 women in Poland develop breast cancer while the waiting time for an ultrasound at public healthcare facilities can take up months. Thanks to respected partners, the Philips Foundation was able to secure 1,000 ultrasounds for women in Poland. In addition, workshops were organized for women living in rural areas on the importance of self-examination, alongside nationwide training of selected gynecologists to expand access to breast examinations up to 350,000 a year.

The Philips Foundation has launched the Clean Air for Schools program. A program that helps schools to improve air quality as well as to understand the impact of air pollution in schools by studying the varying levels of air quality in classrooms and how this affects children’s health and academic performance. Through tailor-made teaching resources that support the national curriculum and the installation of Philips air purifiers in classes, the Philips Foundation and partners monitor the changes in air quality.

Work-related disorders constitute a major occupational and public health issue in Japan, since the country has some of the longest working hours in the world. A reason for the Philips Foundation to have organized and hosted events to improve the health of Japanese citizens by working closely with local governments in four prefectures: Sapporo, Yamanashi, Sendai and Okinawa. Each focusing on different health conditions that are less well known but can have significant impact on people's quality of life.

The Philips Foundation provided funds and equipment to support La Liga Contra el Cáncer in a campaign aimed at raising awareness for prostate cancer. In Colombia, more than thirty workshops were held, which aimed to educate communities on the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer and screen men for the disease. Education is important as prostate cancer in Colombia continues to increase over the years and has become one of the most common ailments in men over 60 years of age.