Half the world’s population still has no access to healthcare, while studies show that in many well-developed healthcare systems as much as 25% of health spending is wasteful. Philips is committed to co-creating high-quality affordable healthcare solutions in which resources are used in the most efficient and responsible way. In 2019, Philips’ products and solutions improved the lives of 1.64 billion globally, compared to 1.54 billion in 2018, and improved the lives of 194 million in underserved communities compared to 175 million in 2018.
Last Friday, Philips announced it has signed a new partnership agreement with the Republic of the Congo’s Ministry of Health & Population and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates by 50 percent in the country’s health facilities over the next five years, especially in remote areas. The three partners will work together to implement a large-scale ‘Emergency obstetric and newborn care’ (EmONC) program that will reach more than 500,000 women and 70,000 newborns, improving access to high quality and affordable maternal, neonatal and child healthcare. The program benefitted from a high level meeting at WEF 2019 that galvanized the support for the initiative from a large group of stakeholders.
In the US, Philips partners with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), The American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to provide the equipment for virtual clinics within VFW and American Legion posts throughout the United States. The project allows US veterans to conduct virtual appointments with their VA providers without having to travel to a distant VA regional medical facility or outpatient clinic.