Takeda Selects New Partners for Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program to Strengthen Health Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced four new partnerships to its Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program, which makes long-term commitments to strengthen healthcare for people in developing and emerging countries. Even the best clinics and hospitals are unable to offer consistent, appropriate, quality care if people cannot access them; a strong health workforce, sustainable supply chains, appropriate resources, and much more are key to building accessible health systems. Takeda’s workforce is a critical part of the annual decision-making process as more than 23,000 employees voted to select Ipas, Plan International, Pure Earth and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as the FY2022 Global CSR Program partners.

Since launching in 2016, Takeda’s Global CSR Program has committed a total of JPY 19.7 billion (Approx. USD 140.7 million) to 19 international and non-governmental organizations on 24 long-term programs that address more than 23 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Targets in 79 countries. Takeda’s commitments to these new partners in FY2022 include:

• JPY 999 million (Approx. USD 7.13 million) to Ipas to implement a four-year program to improve access to and use of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for hard-to-reach women and girls in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Pakistan. By strengthening workforce capacity, health systems and community support mechanisms, this program will address lack of access to quality sexual and reproductive health care which can lead to unintended pregnancies, death and injuries from unsafe abortions, and other potential loss of educational and economic opportunities.

• JPY 497 million (Approx. USD 3.55 million) to Plan International to improve access to health services for marginalized populations, especially girls and women experiencing complications from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), in Somalia. FGM has a significant impact on maternal and child mortality, especially in rural areas where there is a lack of trained community-based female personnel. Over the next four years, this program will strengthen health systems by operating mobile, essential inclusive age-gender-responsive health care services, as well as developing mobile/outreach clinic standards and clinical guidelines for FGM management.

• JPY 1 billion (Approx. USD 7.14 million) to Pure Earth to help protect children in Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Peru from lead poisoning. Today, 1 in 3 of the world’s children have enough lead in their blood to cause permanent brain damage, yet many countries lack systems and technical capacity to effectively address it. By strengthening countries’ health care systems and training health professionals to identify, monitor, treat and reduce childhood lead exposure, while educating parents, teachers and schoolchildren, this five-year program will enable these children to have better opportunity to reach their full potential.

• JPY 998 million (Approx. USD 7.13 million) to UNFPA to escalate the level and quality of case management support available for survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Indonesia, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. The four-year program will strengthen social service systems in partnership with learning institutions, governments and civil society; capacity building, mentoring and monitoring will equip frontline GBV workers to provide skilled support for all women and girls including those most marginalized.

In addition to our FY22 Global CSR Program partners, a portion of the 2022 Global CSR Program has focused on supporting humanitarian efforts across the globe. Takeda is committing JPY 300 million (Approx. USD 2.14 million) to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support the roll-out of the organization’s electronic Personal Health Record (e-PHR) tool for migrants displaced by conflict and crises. The tool will be deployed in Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Yemen and enables the recording of and access to medical history, diagnoses, and symptoms across borders, health systems, and languages. This digital solution aims to reach over 83,000 beneficiaries and will help enhance knowledge about migrants’ health needs and strengthen national and cross-border disease surveillance and increase response capacities by making health assessment records available in transit and destination countries.

“We are proud to partner with Ipas, Plan International, Pure Earth and UNPFA to directly respond to some of the most disenfranchised populations’ immediate needs by helping to create infrastructures and systems that effectively address root causes,” says Takako Ohyabu, Takeda’s chief global corporate affairs and sustainability officer. “These partnerships help reduce life-threatening emergency issues while transforming the daily lives of people and the planet. As a 240-year-old company, we know sustainable impact takes time and we take a long-term view. We also know some of the most enduring, innovative solutions are brought to life through partnerships. We embark on these efforts with our values at heart, enabling our employees to have a direct say in how we tackle these critical global health issues to ultimately help us better serve and empower these communities to be ready for the future.”

Each program supports health system strengthening in unique ways and aligns with countries’ national health needs. These four- to 10-year funding commitments reflect that there are no quick fixes to some of the most complex and longstanding challenges facing health systems in low- and middle-income countries.

This year’s partners shared:

• “Ipas is deeply honored to work with Takeda, which shares our commitment to a healthy and just world for all people, to expand access to quality, sustainable sexual and reproductive health care for women and girls in hard-to-reach places. This partnership will strengthen the capacity of health workers, health systems and communities in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Pakistan,” said Anu Kumar, president and CEO of Ipas.

• “Plan International's new 5-year partnership with Takeda in Somalia will not only strengthen rural health systems through developing mobile/outreach clinic standards and FGM management clinical guidelines, but also enable Somali girls and women to make decisions about their sexuality and bodies through awareness campaigns and training,” said Dr. Kiyoko Ikegami, chair of the board of Plan International Japan.

• “Pure Earth is honored to count Takeda as a partner. Together, we will equip five countries to evaluate and identify children currently suffering from lead poisoning, undetected and unseen, so that the healing can begin. This is a powerful example of how public-private partnerships can accelerate solutions. Takeda’s leadership on the childhood lead poisoning crisis is an impactful model to follow,” said Rich Fuller, CEO of Pure Earth.

• “Gender-based violence is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, with an estimated 1 in 3 women experiencing physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime. It knows no social, economic or national boundaries. With support from Takeda, UNFPA will scale up its efforts to tackle the pandemic of violence against women and girls, providing specialized protection and response services in countries with some of the highest rates of gender-based violence. We are grateful for Takeda's partnership as we work together to end this global scourge once and for all,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund.

Takeda’s Global CSR Program partnerships have made notable progress since it was initiated in 2016 having:

• Reached more than 10.5 million direct beneficiaries;

• Trained more than 60,000 qualified health professionals and community health workers;

• Provided more than 1 million community members with targeted health education including on nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene and sexual and reproductive health;

• Immunized 4.2 million children against preventable diseases such as measles; and

• Our partners are on track to reach 22 million direct beneficiaries by 2027, providing lifesaving care for vulnerable women and newborns, training health workers, preventing disease, strengthening holistic support for refugees, and so much more.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments, guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Genetics and Hematology, Neuroscience, and Gastroenterology (GI). We also make targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. We are focusing on developing highly innovative medicines that contribute to making a difference in people’s lives by advancing the frontier of new treatment options and leveraging our enhanced collaborative R&D engine and capabilities to create a robust, modality-diverse pipeline. Our employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients and to working with our partners in health care in approximately 80 countries and regions. For more information, visit https://www.takeda.com.

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