Philips Foundation Announces Global Innovation Partnerships with the Red Cross and UNICEF

PhilipsThe Philips Foundation has formed global innovation partnerships with UNICEF and the Red Cross (led by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Netherlands Red Cross). Collaboration will be based on new types of co-creation models that enable the partners to identify opportunities for innovation based on shared value, while benefiting from a global reach of over 190 countries. The Philips Foundation, which was established in 2014, will utilize the core expertise of Philips in research, design and technology to create solutions for addressing healthcare and lighting challenges in disadvantaged communities or those affected by disasters.

"In 2015, as the world prepares to define the Post-2015 Development Agenda, it's clear that the only way to overcome many of the global challenges is through cross-sector collaboration," said Ronald de Jong, Chief Market Leader at Royal Philips and Chairman of the Philips Foundation. "We look forward to leveraging the expertise and people from each organization. Consolidating these efforts into these global partnerships under the Philips Foundation is a logical and exciting step in contributing to our company’s mission to improve the lives of 3 billion people by 2025."

The Red Cross and the Philips Foundation will focus on exploring innovations and technology that could assist in providing immediate relief to people in regions affected by humanitarian crises including natural disasters. Key areas of cooperation include exploring ways to improve healthcare, providing powerful solar lighting to enhance safety in affected communities, and understanding how existing technology or sustainable practices could be utilized in emergency management.

"As the world faces an unprecedented number of crises, the gap between the vast humanitarian needs and the ability to respond adequately is widening," said Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "We need to find more innovative ways of responding to needs that will enable us to bring aid more effectively and quickly to millions of people who require it. The partnership with the Philips Foundation will play a crucial role in helping us innovate and shape the future of humanitarian aid."

The Philips Foundation and UNICEF have partnered to develop new healthcare innovations for the first 1000 days of children's lives, from the moment of conception up until the age of two - as this is a crucial period for children to build the basis to be able to thrive. To kick start the partnership, the Philips Foundation will support the global innovation agenda of UNICEF and intends to be a lead partner in the Maker Movement project in Nairobi, which is focused on developing and deploying solutions and new business models that improve access to healthcare for mothers and their children in low-resource settings.

"We work to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person's future. The first 1000 days of a child's life are crucial. Today, approximately 18 million mothers around the world still do not receive proper antenatal and neonatal care. Partnering with the Philips Foundation allows us to work with experts in cutting-edge healthcare technologies and adapt innovations to the realities of the regions and local communities we work in," said Sharad Sapra, Principal Adviser and Director of the UNICEF Innovation Center.

Additionally, the Philips Foundation will support Philips' country organizations with local community programs and use innovation, products, expertise and employee support in the areas of healthcare and lighting. This enables the Foundation build on and complement existing Philips projects such as the community light centers program with the KNVB across Africa and Latin America, the Community Life Center in Kenya, the mobile obstetrical monitoring to reduce maternal mortality in Indonesia, and the Design for Empowerment program.

Related news articles:

About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2013 sales of EUR 23.3 billion and employs approximately 113,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare.

About the Philips Foundation
The Philips Foundation is a registered charity and has been created to help enable lasting social change in disadvantaged communities through the provision and application of innovation, talent and resources. Together with key partners the International Red Cross and UNICEF, the Philips Foundation seeks to identify the challenges where a combination of Philips expertise and partner experience can be used to create meaningful solutions that impact people's lives. The Philips Foundation has three main program areas: disaster relief, community development and social entrepreneurship. Programs run throughout the world in Philips country locations will also be supported and channeled through the Philips Foundation. The Philips Foundation’s work supports Royal Philips' ambition to improve the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2025.

About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

About the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world. Its mission is to alleviate human suffering, protect life and health, and uphold human dignity especially during armed conflicts and other emergencies. It is present in every country and supported by millions of volunteers. The "Movement" is made up of the following components: the International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Most Popular Now

AI for Real-Rime, Patient-Focused Insigh…

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but still... they both have a lot of work to do to catch up to BiomedGPT. Covered recently in the prestigious journal Nature...

A "Chemical ChatGPT" for New M…

Researchers from the University of Bonn have trained an AI process to predict potential active ingredients with special properties. Therefore, they derived a chemical language model - a kind of...

Siemens Healthineers co-leads EU Project…

Siemens Healthineers is joining forces with more than 20 industry and public partners, including seven leading stroke hospitals, to improve stroke management for patients all over Europe. With a total...

In 10 Seconds, an AI Model Detects Cance…

Researchers have developed an AI powered model that - in 10 seconds - can determine during surgery if any part of a cancerous brain tumor that could be removed remains...

Does AI Improve Doctors' Diagnoses?

With hospitals already deploying artificial intelligence to improve patient care, a new study has found that using Chat GPT Plus does not significantly improve the accuracy of doctors' diagnoses when...

AI Analysis of PET/CT Images can Predict…

Dr. Watanabe and his teams from Niigata University have revealed that PET/CT image analysis using artificial intelligence (AI) can predict the occurrence of interstitial lung disease, known as a serious...

MEDICA and COMPAMED 2024: Shining a Ligh…

11 - 14 November 2024, Düsseldorf, Germany. Christian Grosser, Director Health & Medical Technologies, is looking forward to events getting under way: "From next Monday to Thursday, we will once again...

New Medical AI Tool Identifies more Case…

Investigators at Mass General Brigham have developed an AI-based tool to sift through electronic health records to help clinicians identify cases of long COVID, an often mysterious condition that can...

NIH-Developed AI Algorithm Successfully …

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to help speed up the process of matching potential volunteers to relevant clinical research trials...

Jane Stephenson Joins SPARK TSL as Chief…

Jane Stephenson has joined SPARK TSL as chief executive as the company looks to establish the benefits of SPARK Fusion with trusts looking for deployable solutions to improve productivity. Stephenson joins...

500 Patient Images per Second Shared thr…

The image exchange portal, widely known in the NHS as the IEP, is now being used to share as many as 500 images each second - including x-rays, CT, MRI...

MEDICA 2024 and COMPAMED 2024: Medical T…

11 - 14 November 2024, Düsseldorf, Germany. "Meet Health. Future. People." is MEDICA's campaign motto for the future in the new trade fair year 2025. The aptness of the motto...