New UCB Community Health Fund focuses on vulnerable people

 
COVID-19 is having a profound effect on our society. The pandemic will have a lasting impact on the health and well-being of populations, and the economies.
 
However, the effect of this crisis will not be felt evenly: some in our communities will be more deeply affected than others. At UCB, we have been exploring ways that we could help to reduce the burden on those at greatest risk, and to build resilience for the future to come.
 
To play our part in the global response to the pandemic, we are launching the UCB Community Health Fund. Managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, the Fund aims to address health disparities amongst vulnerable populations. In first instance the Fund will focus on contributing to understand and reduce the medium- and long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the physical, mental, and social well-being of vulnerable populations.

UCB is making an initial €3 million contribution and will match voluntary financial donations from employees and anyone who wants to contribute. Grants will be available to organizations with impact-driven projects and initiatives aiming at improving the health of vulnerable groups. The Fund will also support social sciences and/or medical research outside of UCB therapeutic areas on the consequences of hazards and emergencies on vulnerable populations’ health. A first call for projects will be announced in the coming weeks that will focus on the medium-and-long term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For us as a company – and as a group of people committed to advancing health – the pandemic has reinforced our commitment to UCB purpose to “create  value for patients, now and into the future”.  We know that it is through our strategic choices and our daily business that we can contribute the most to improve the health of people with severe diseases around us, including those from vulnerable groups. With our UCB Community Health Fund we want to start supporting organizations that are active in communities where we operate and which address issues that are outside of our business scope.  

This crisis requires a collaborative response from across society. The UCB Community Health Fund is part of our support to vulnerable populations  in  communities where we operate.  

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