Sandoz recognizes International Women's Day, highlighting importance of healthcare access for women globally
March 7, 2014
Today Sandoz recognizes International Women’s Day (IWD), a globally-recognized day which celebrates the economic, social and cultural contributions made by women.
It is observed each year on March 8th. The United Nations theme for IWD this year is “Equality for Women is Progress for All.”
A key element of equality for women is access to education and healthcare. According to the United Nations, education for girls is key to reducing maternal mortality. The risk of maternal death is 2.7 times higher among women with no education, and two times higher among women with one to six years of education than for women with more than 12 years of education.
The eight “Millennium Development Goals” (MDG) to be reached by 2015 include reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. According to the World Health Organization, in the next 20 minutes, the world will lose 20-30 women to pregnancy and child birth. The health outcomes of women are on the world’s stage and Sandoz is one of many companies contributing to their successful achievement.
How Sandoz contributes to improving healthcare for women
Sandoz works to make high-quality, essential medicines available to people around the world via affordable pricing. Our goal is to improve health outcomes, which means that in many cases we not only produce high-quality, low-cost medicines, but also add value for patients and healthcare providers via health education campaigns and treatment support. We also seek to improve healthcare outcomes in rural areas of developing countries where access to healthcare can be particularly challenging.
As a part of Sandoz’s Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiative, Sandoz works to increase awareness and education around health issues affecting women all over the world.
We highlight some of our activities here.
Egypt: Eradicating Typhoid
Typhoid fever remains a major cause of death and disease in the developing world. Eradication depends upon the provision of sanitary water supplies and proper disposal of human sewage. Mass patient awareness in areas where it is endemic could also accelerate eradication. Sandoz Egypt created a special awareness initiative on infection control for illiterate women in Upper Egypt, one of the country’s poorest areas.
The initiative includes regular visits to hospitals and healthcare clinics in the region to provide information on the disease, as well as treatments to healthcare professionals and local women through talks and film presentations. In 2013, the program expanded into other areas of Upper Egypt. So far, the project has covered 106 Healthcare units, 25 hospitals and 20 meetings for mothers with a total of 1,450 attendees.
India: International Women’s Day
Since 2011, Sandoz India has been celebrating International Women’s Day every year on March 8th. In 2013, there were celebrations at the three sites in India as well as the corporate office to highlight the achievements of women associates. The team organized a series of events which included lunch, a lecture from a doctor about women’s health and games.
France: Supporting Breast Cancer Prevention
Breast cancer continues to be a major threat to women in France. The French Health Ministry supports the screening and prevention of breast cancer through bi-annual mammography for women between 50 and 74 years old. Even though women under 30 years old can develop the disease, they are less concerned about breast cancer screening and prevention.
Since 2011, Sandoz France has been engaged in an initiative to encourage young women to consider breast cancer screening and prevention in collaboration with pharmacists, the Curie Institute and a key European patients association called EuropaDonna. During International Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sandoz France sponsored FNAC Montparnasse, the first web radio station in the world dedicated to breast cancer. The web radio program hopes to reach more than 100,000 young women.
Learn more about solutions that are making improving maternal health by reading the “UN Factsheet on Goal 5: Improve maternal health”.