Takeda Selects Two New Partners for Annual Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program to Support Strong Health Systems and Access to Healthcare in Developing Countries

− Takeda employees worldwide voted to add Access to Health Fund and Bridges to Development as 2020 partners
− With these new partners, Takeda's Global CSR Program contributions total JPY 12.3 billion (USD 112 million*) across 16 programs in more than 60 countries since its 2016 launch
− Takeda’s founding mission to serve patients, wherever they are, drives its commitments to prevent disease and increase access to healthcare in partnership with the global community

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TOKYO:4502/NYSE:TAK) (“Takeda”) today announced the addition of two partners to its Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program, which makes long-term commitments to strengthen healthcare systems and improve access to healthcare for all in developing countries. As part of an annual decision-making process, Takeda employees worldwide have voted to add the Access to Health Fund and Bridges to Development as new partners for the Global CSR Program, which now supports 16 programs in more than 60 countries.

Takeda’s commitments to these new partner organizations in FY2020 include:

• JPY 1.1 billion (USD 10.1 million*) to Access to Health Fund to help build and improve community health centers and empower health staff from ethnic health organizations and ethnic community-based health organizations (EHOs/ECBHOs) in Myanmar’s Shan State to deliver quality health services, particularly for mothers and children, over the next 5 years.
• JPY 681 million (USD 6.3 million^*) to Bridges to Development to eliminate or control 5 neglected tropical diseases in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu including lymphatic filariasis, yaws, leprosy, trachoma, and soil-transmitted helminthiases. The 3-year project will improve health worker capacity, access to care and treatment.

“We welcome and very much value the interest that Takeda and its employees have shown in contributing to improving the health of vulnerable populations in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas in Shan State in Myanmar,” said Oren Ginzburg, Access to Health Fund Director.

“The Bridges team is thrilled to embark on this important work in service of communities and populations that have been frequently left behind,” said Julie Jacobson, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Bridges to Development. “In this project, working with countries, we aim to achieve lasting health benefits through the elimination and control of several neglected tropical diseases in one innovative approach. We are thankful to Takeda employees who helped make this possible with their support.”

This year represents the 5^th anniversary of Takeda’s Global CSR Program, which empowers employees in Takeda’s 80 countries of operation to be the decisionmakers for which innovative, high-impact activities receive the Company’s support. The Program, rooted in the company’s values, actively partners with world-class organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with proven track records of addressing global health problems in effective, enduring ways to prevent disease, train health workers, strengthen supply chains, and improve access to quality diagnosis and treatment for patients worldwide.

“Since its launch in 2016, Takeda’s Global CSR Program has focused on initiatives that strengthen health systems and increase access across the patient journey in low- and middle-income countries. We’re expecting to reach at least 17 million beneficiaries through 2025 globally” said Takako Ohyabu, Chief Global Corporate Affairs Officer. “We are proud to partner with the Access to Health Fund and Bridges to Development as we strive to increase health worker capacity and preventive care for patients everywhere, ensure reliable access to essential equipment and supplies, and empower communities with knowledge, services, and access to care."

In less than five years, Takeda’s Global CSR Program partners have delivered transformational impact that serves communities worldwide today and will continue to contribute to better health outcomes and stronger health systems for years to come, including:

• JOICFP, Plan International, and UNICEF reached nearly 700,000 pregnant women and mothers, newborns, children, and adolescents, with quality health care, services, and education in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
• JOICFP, Plan International, Seed Global Health, and UNICEF in Africa and the Middle East, with World Vision in South Asia, have collectively trained approximately 6,000 health workers in 15 countries, including qualified nurses, midwives, and physician trainees, as well as community health workers and nutrition volunteers.
• Millions of children have been immunized against measles, and the capacity of trainings offered by academic and clinical institutions in sub-Saharan Africa has been expanded exponentially.

In line with Takeda’s core values and longstanding support for strong health systems and access to healthcare for all, Takeda recently announced contributions to the global COVID-19 response through three United Nations-led organizations to strengthen health systems, improve access to care and supplies, and address food insecurity.

Takeda also forges farsighted public-private philanthropic partnerships with game-changing multilateral and academic institutions worldwide, such as with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

^* Financial information relating to the donations has been converted from JPY to USD using the ¥108.87:$1 as of June 3, 2020. For the avoidance of doubt, the amounts payable as part of the donations are denominated in JPY.