Sanofi Launches International Health Philanthropy Initiatives in Celebration of 60th Anniversary of China-France Diplomatic Relations

China Finance and Economics News, March 21 (Reporter Du Ding) This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. As one of the first French healthcare companies to establish roots in China, Sanofi will launch a series of international cooperation projects in areas such as health-related public welfare, scientific innovation, and socio-cultural exchange.

Today, Sanofi, in collaboration with the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation, launched the Sanofi China Public Welfare Special Fund. This public welfare fund focuses on "psychological support, health knowledge dissemination, and the establishment of localized standards," and is expected to directly benefit over 10,000 people and indirectly benefit more than 1 million people in the next three years. The project plans include developing targeted psychological care courses for young patients and their parents to better adapt to school life; popularizing knowledge about type 2 inflammatory immune diseases such as the two types of diabetes and atopic dermatitis, and promoting healthy lifestyles; introducing successful global children's public welfare project experiences to create standardized local public welfare science education programs, which will then be promoted globally.

It is reported that the Soong Ching Ling Foundation of Shanghai Saofi China Public Welfare Special Fund ("Public Welfare Special Fund") takes "China Youth Health Care Science Popularization Program: Healthy ‘Childhood’ Journey" as the main action line. It begins with campus public welfare activities targeting diabetes in children and adolescents, introducing the global public welfare project "Kids & Diabetes in Schools (KiDS)" jointly initiated by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), and Sanofi. The initiative aims to support the improvement of health literacy among patients and their parents while providing better campus system support. In the future, the Healthy ‘Childhood’ Journey will also focus on areas such as immune diseases.

"Children's health is a top priority in public health, which means that people need to have the necessary understanding of children's diseases in order to improve preventive measures for related illnesses and help patients and their parents actively address these conditions," said Myriam PAVAGEAU, Minister of the French Embassy in China. The project launched today aims to promote and communicate the importance of healthy eating to the public, including children, parents, and teachers, while fully considering the school environment and regional specificities. This public welfare project, serving the general public, undoubtedly has the conditions for success.

Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President of Sanofi and Head of the Global General Medicines Division, stated that on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as a benchmark enterprise in Sino-French economic and trade exchanges in the health sector, Sanofi will continue to make positive contributions to Sino-French exchanges in science, economy, socio-culture, and other fields. It will also contribute to the shared development opportunities and the deepening of friendly relations between the two countries.

Sanofi Greater China President Wang Shi emphasized that this cooperation with the Shanghai Songjiang Foundation is the latest public welfare practice in promoting the healthy development of children and adolescents, and a steadfast commitment to actively responding to the health needs of the local public.

"Currently, China has the largest population of people with diabetes in the world. Focusing on children's science popularization education and shifting from treatment to prevention is a task that requires the participation of the whole society, and it is an essential part of comprehensive diabetes prevention and control," said Professor Linong Ji, Director of the Endocrinology Department at Peking University People's Hospital. He noted that the absolute number of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in China ranks fourth globally. Enhancing societal awareness, reducing the stigma for patients and their families, and continuously improving the disease management system can help these young patients return to normal life and regain confidence.