Advancing Access to Health Care

Throughout our 118-year history, Abbott has been recognized for innovative solutions that have made a lasting impact on the lives of patients. Being a good citizen is an equally important part of who we are today and the type of company we plan to be for generations to come.

A critical challenge of the global community is the expansion of affordable health care services and needed medicines, particularly for the poor and underserved. In 2006, we implemented several new programs to address health needs in the developing world.

The Baylor College of Medicine — Abbott Fund Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence — Malawi is the country’s first outpatient clinic dedicated to serving children and families living with HIV.

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Aluvia: creating broad access to our HIV medicines

Since 2001, Abbott has made our HIV medicines widely available and among the lowest-priced protease inhibitors in 69 countries, covering all of Africa and the world’s poorest countries. In 2006, we expanded access to Kaletra (also known as Aluvia in developing countries) from 69 developing countries to 114 low- and low-middle-income developing countries. Our program is designed to ensure long-term, sustainable access to high-quality HIV medicines and includes:

Sustainable pricing for governments, nongovernmental organizations and public funders of HIV medicines in developing countries;
Broad registration of the new, nonrefrigerated Kaletra tablet formulation throughout the world, including Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean;
Investment in additional manufacturing capacity to meet demand for high-quality, second-line HIV treatments; and
Development of a pediatric low-dose Kaletra tablet formulation to meet the treatment needs of HIV-positive children worldwide.

Brian is one of many children receiving medical care at the center through a comprehensive program. To date, Abbott and Abbott Fund’s programs have assisted more than 600,000 children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

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Pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment in Malawi

Treating children with HIV/AIDS in the developing world is an enormous challenge, particularly in Africa. Malawi is one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with an estimated 83,000 children living with the disease.

In partnership with the Baylor College of Medicine and the government of Malawi, we opened the Baylor College of Medicine — Abbott Fund Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence — Malawi, the country’s first pediatric outpatient clinic dedicated to the care and treatment of children living with HIV. This clinic is already treating more than 1,100 children. The program will be expanded to include satellite clinics throughout the country.

Improving pediatric health in Cambodia

War and civil unrest have left Cambodia with some of the worst health statistics in Southeast Asia. UNICEF reports that 45 percent of Cambodian children are afflicted with moderate to severe malnutrition, resulting in child mortality rates among the highest in Southeast Asia.

Abbott Fund, Direct Relief International and the Angkor Hospital for Children partnered to improve pediatric nutrition in Cambodia through treatment, education and training initiatives. Abbott donated nutritional products and antibiotics, and Abbott Fund provided a grant to train health care workers, fund local and regional educational workshops for parents and furnish materials for the hospital’s family education initiative. The product contributions and nutrition training will directly benefit nearly 5,000 children and more than 3,000 mothers.

For a full report on Abbott’s global citizenship initiatives, view our annual global citizenship report at www.abbott.com/citizenship.

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