Since 2022, Foundation S has been committed to creating a new model of philanthropy based on the integration of field expertise and collective action to serve the most vulnerable communities. In early 2024, the publication of its first impact report allows us to measure the progress made and to share its vision for the future.
Foundation S - The Sanofi Collective was launched in 2022 with a clear objective: to contribute to a profound transformation of philanthropic action in the health sector to respond more fairly and effectively to the climate and humanitarian health challenges our world faces today. In this first impact report, Foundation S highlights key data from its first years of activity, showing the initial concrete results of this innovative model, especially among the most vulnerable communities.
"By harnessing the power of philanthropy, we lead bold initiatives and unite our forces to meet some of the most urgent challenges of our time. Thanks to Foundation S - The Sanofi Collective, we serve patients and communities that we could not reach otherwise," says Frédéric Oudéa, president of Foundation S.
1. Health Resilience and Climate Action
Climate change is a public health emergency, and Foundation S focuses on supporting local adaptation projects that are still too little supported by traditional philanthropic actors. Through partnerships with organizations led by the communities most directly affected by the health damages of climate change, Foundation S encourages a global policy change and brings to the international community concrete evidence of the effectiveness of their local solutions.
1 Key figure: 22 beneficiaries in about fifteen countries have been supported with a particular focus on empowering communities.
1 Key project: With My Own Two Hands in Kenya
Foundation S has supported climate change adaptation projects led by local communities and focused on improving agricultural practices and those related to water, sanitation, and hygiene in East Africa. This action particularly impacts women who can thus be in charge of community initiatives for greater climate resilience.
1 Key ambition for the future: Foundation S has committed 42 million euros through 2030 to fight against the devastating effects of climate change on vulnerable communities.
2. Childhood Cancers
Building on the legacy of the historic My Child Matters program, Foundation S has deployed new actions to support an increase in the survival rate of children with cancer worldwide. It supports initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacity of health professionals to assist children and families by establishing holistic medical care systems. Thanks to its Open Data Platform, it advances knowledge on prevention projects and programs aimed at improving access to effective treatments.
1 Key figure: 140,000 children with cancer received support
1 Key project: The Teleo program in Spain
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the support of Foundation S allowed this training program for pediatric oncology practitioners in low-income countries to change scale. Today, it is a learning community with 1,400 health professionals.
1 Key ambition for the future: Thanks to new investments in the Open Data Platform, where hundreds of project summaries and scientific reports are already published, Foundation S counts on the strength of digital technology to further highlight the supported initiatives and the innovations they carry.
3. Humanitarian Aid and Medicine Donations
One of the key focuses of Foundation S is its humanitarian aid and medicine donations, which have supported vulnerable and displaced populations during the numerous crises and conflicts that have affected our planet since 2022. Collaboration at local, regional, and global levels with numerous organizations, including the Tulipe association, ensures the proper coordination of these donations and their timely arrival to respond to the most urgent needs in the most critical areas.
1 Key figure: 22 million people affected.
1 Key project: In a logic of continuous improvement and to better respond to emergencies as they arise, Foundation S has worked to reduce its response time to humanitarian disasters from 3 weeks to 48 hours.
1 Key ambition for the future: The risks of donations being poorly targeted or sent in quantities or formats not adapted to the needs of populations affected by crises or conflicts remain high in the humanitarian field. Foundation S wishes to continue its approach of optimizing operations efficiency through digital technology to limit these risks and maximize the impact of its emergency interventions.
4. Elimination of Sleeping Sickness
Through Foundation S, Sanofi is at the forefront of the fight to eliminate sleeping sickness, and without a vaccine! It collaborates with the WHO and the DNDi to develop and distribute treatments that simplify administration and spare patients from hardly accessible care if one does not live near a hospital. These advances allow us to envisage the elimination of the disease by 2030.
1 Key figure: 97% reduction in cases of sleeping sickness since the 2000s.
1 Key project: Foundation S, Sanofi, the WHO, and DNDi have developed fexinidazole, the first complete multidose oral treatment against sleeping sickness. 60% of patients were treated with fexinidazole in 2022.
1 Key ambition for the future: In November 2022, Foundation S announced the success of the Acoziborole trial, a single-dose oral treatment. If approved, this molecule will simplify the treatment and detection of this devastating disease. The project teams aim for approval of this treatment for large-scale distribution by 2026.
Finally, Foundation S, with its "Think and Do Tank" approach, is also very active in organizing exchanges with global experts and opinion leaders to shift consciousness and push other institutions and companies into action. Thus, Foundation S works with over 40 philanthropic partners and collaborators and has launched more than 25 strategic dialogues since 2022 to advocate for climate adaptation.
To learn more about the action of Foundation S, you can read the impact report in its entirety here.