Novartis Dialogue Explores Response to Chronic Illness in Poor Countries

Health experts from around the world met on November 29 to discuss ways to tackle an emerging crisis.
Dec 15, 2016 1:15 AM ET

December 14, 2016 /3BL Media/ - Chronic conditions such as heart disease and cancer are a growing threat in the world’s poorest countries and public health experts from around the world met on November 29 to explore ways of tackling this silent epidemic. Chronic conditions such as heart disease and cancer are a growing threat in the world’s poorest countries and public health experts from around the world met on November 29 to explore ways of tackling this silent epidemic.

Participants at the event “Improving care for chronic patients in lower-income countries: the patient journey”, organized by Novartis Access and the Novartis Foundation, discussed an array of solutions that will likely be needed to mount an effective response.

Some of the most important steps could include improving access to affordable medicines, supporting better education about chronic diseases, using technology in new ways to aid awareness and treatment, and building effective partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Speakers and panelists included representatives from the World Health Organization, PATH, Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Boston University and Emory University, as well as government delegates.  Joerg Reinhardt, Novartis Chairman, also delivered a keynote address.

Read the full story on Novartis.com

Watch a recap of the event

Watch the webcast in full and on demand

Explore the conversation from the event on twitter #talkingNCDs , #novartisaccess

About the Novartis Foundation
The Novartis Foundation is a philanthropic organization pioneering innovative healthcare models that can have a transformational impact on the health of the poorest populations. We work hand-in-hand with our local and global partners to catalyze scalable and sustainable healthcare models to improve access and health outcomes, and to accelerate efforts to eliminate leprosy and malaria by focusing on interventions that aim to interrupt transmission. Everything we do is grounded in evidence and innovation, and our work is a continuous cycle of evaluation, adaptation and application. In 2015, the operational budget for the foundation was CHF 12 million and our programs reached 4.5 million people.

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About Novartis Access 
Novartis Access is a Group-wide program to help fight chronic diseases in lower-income countries. The Novartis Access portfolio focuses on affordability and availability of 15 on- and off-patent Novartis medicines addressing key diseases areas – cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer. The portfolio is offered as a basket to governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other public-sector customers at a price of USD 1 per treatment per month. Beyond the portfolio of medicines, Novartis Access offers capacity-building activities to support healthcare systems in preventing, diagnosing and treating NCDs. We are striving to roll out the program in 30 countries in the coming years – depending on governmental and stakeholder demand – aiming to reach 20 million patients per year by 2020.

Novartis Access is integrated in Novartis Social Business, a unit which includes the Novartis Malaria Initiative and the Novartis Healthy Family programs. This unit is operationally managed by Sandoz, the Novartis generics and biosimilars division.

www.novartisaccess.com
#NovartisAccess

About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care and cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2015, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.4 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 8.9 billion (USD 8.7 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are available in approximately 180 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

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Kiara Barnes
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