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Johnson & Johnson has announced the official launch of its global public health strategy at the opening of its companies' on-the-ground global public health operations in Cape Town, South Africa.
PRESS RELEASE
Cape Town, South Africa, (April 6, 2016) — Johnson & Johnson today announced the official launch of its global public health strategy at the opening of its companies’ on-the-ground global public health operations in Cape Town, South Africa.
Through this global strategy, Johnson & Johnson will mobilize its global public health capabilities and resources behind a unified, multidisciplinary effort to deliver a sustainable, measurable impact against significant public health needs. The initial implementation of the strategy starts with this new site in Africa, and will focus on three core areas: HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. The company plans to expand its focus areas to address other unmet global health needs and its geographic reach.
"Public health in the developing world faces enormous challenges that require unique solutions, and by engaging, enabling and empowering local health care professionals and entrepreneurs in this way, we can advance the research, development and distribution of new medicines and treatments that will make a difference for patients in Africa,” said Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson. “Ultimately, we’re aspiring to build a healthy world free of disease, and our approach here is a potential blueprint for helping us and others succeed against that broader, global goal in the future.”
Johnson & Johnson’s global public health (GPH) Africa operations team, along with representatives from across its family of companies, will translate the strategy into locally-executable programs that drive health impact in collaboration with local health delivery partners. The company’s GPH strategy will use an end-to-end approach, which includes early stage disease-specific research, product development, manufacturing and distribution, and education and training resources through its philanthropic efforts. It also will leverage insights and expert capabilities from within its consumer, medical device and pharmaceutical businesses to support a network of local partnerships. Business development teams from Johnson & Johnson companies also will collaborate with African academic centers and entrepreneurs to set up incubation facilities to enable local medical-based start-up companies to conduct their business.
“This is a model based on innovation, collaboration, and local empowerment that aims to address life threatening issues and deliver measurable results to improve outcomes for patients, families and communities, first across Africa, and more globally in the longer term,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson. “By directly engaging with and empowering researchers and the health care community across South Africa, we will be better able to direct our resources and advance innovations that can lead to greater impact. We think this can work anywhere in the world, but our urgency right now has to be in Africa because of the patients’ needs.”
“Local capacity building and empowerment are key aspects of this new approach and are critical to achieving sustainable outcomes,” said Jaak Peeters, Head of Johnson & Johnson’s global public health organization. “Our sights are set on achieving meaningful long-term results, such as eliminating multi-drug resistant TB or providing adolescent girls with tools they need to stay HIV-free and by working with local and global partners, we can create an ecosystem where we can help achieve those goals.”
The operations expand upon the company’s legacy and presence in Africa, which began in 1936, and brings additional investments to the more than 1,500 employees and three manufacturing sites within the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, which are already present on the continent. Global public health satellite offices in Kenya and Ghana are planned to follow later this year.
“We’ve learned over time that solving last-mile challenges through local empowerment and partnerships offers the greatest potential impact in the fight against public health challenges, and that it can also help fuel the local economy and catalyze infrastructure investments,” said Alma Scott, Vice President of Global Operations and Partnerships for Johnson & Johnson’s global public health organization.
As part of the opening of global public health Africa operations in Cape Town, Johnson & Johnson is proud to announce several of its companies’ new and recent local partnerships to enhance national health system capacity and research and development capabilities:
Strengthening African Innovation in Africa and Beyond
Holistic Solutions to Address Greatest Unmet Needs
Local Empowerment and Delivery of Innovative Solutions
These efforts are an extension of a long-standing Johnson & Johnson commitment to caring for individuals, families, and communities around the world, including the most vulnerable populations.