Chapter 3 Ethics and Social Responsibility

OUR COMMITMENT TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN

As our businesses have diversified and expanded globally, Johnson & Johnson remains true to the foundation of our company: caring for the health and well-being of mothers and children. We have a heritage unlike any other company. Because we are especially privileged to touch mothers at the most intimate moments with their newborn child, we have a bond forged on deep emotional trust—one that builds a special connection with people. It also magnifies our commitment to help ensure that mothers and children, wherever they may live, enjoy good health care.

Consistent with our legacy, Johnson & Johnson responded with a five-year commitment to the United Nations’ renewed efforts to advance the Millennium Development Goals of reducing mortality in women and children by 2015. Our commitment aims to help as many as 120 million women each year for the next five years, reaching 50 countries. It includes initiatives such as mobile health information for expectant mothers, safe birth programs and 200 million doses annually of mebendazole, a treatment for intestinal worms in children.

In addition to this commitment, we support nearly 650 other philanthropic programs in more than 50 countries. While working on saving and improving the lives of women and children, we also focus on building the skills of people who serve community health needs, as well as preventing diseases and reducing stigma and disability in underserved communities

Johnson & Johnson’s accomplishments in the first year of this effort include:

    Mobile Alliance For Maternal Action (MAMA) – This initiative using mobile phones to deliver prenatal and post-birth health information to 15 million new and expectant mothers in the developing world  through 2015 was launched with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and BabyCenter, the mHealth Alliance, and the United Nations Foundation. Women will receive free mobile phone messages on prenatal health, safe delivery and immunization reminders through the program. Over the next three years, the program is planned to reach Bangladesh, South Africa and India, with future extensions planned to China, Mexico and Nigeria.
    Helping Babies Breathe (HBB): A new safe births initiative strengthening training programs to help babies breathe at birth is expected to save the lives of thousands of babies in Uganda and Malawi. This effort is being implemented in collaboration with Save the Children, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and USAID, and builds upon the Company’s experience since 2004 to support training for more than 150,000 healthcare workers in China, South Africa and Vietnam in preventing birth asphyxia, a life-threatening condition in infants caused by an inability to breathe at birth.  In China alone, this neonatal resuscitation program has trained more than 120,000 health workers, saved 90,000 newborns’ lives and is projected to save more than 175,000 more babies from premature and preventable deaths in the next 5 years.
    Health 4+ Partnership: Johnson & Johnson became the first private sector organization to support the United Nations’ Health 4+, the joint action platform established by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to coordinate implementation of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy on Women’s and Children’s Health at the country level. The Company is now working to support pilot training programs for healthcare workers in Tanzania and Ethiopia which will provide critical prenatal and obstetric care for mothers and newborns.
    One Million Health Workers Challenge: Training and support for front-line health workers, including skilled birth attendants, in the developing world will be critical to improving the health of mothers and children while preventing disease. As a Company with extensive expertise in building healthcare capacity, particularly around labor and delivery, Johnson & Johnson has committed to advocate for and support the Frontline Health Workers Coalition and the U.S. Government’s Global Health Initiative’s new partnership between the public and private sectors to meet the challenge of educating one million health workers in resource-poor countries. 
    Children Without Worms: Johnson & Johnson more than doubled its donation of mebendazole, a treatment for intestinal worms in children, through its Children Without Worms program, up from 36 million doses in 2010 to 80 million doses by the end of 2011. The Company plans to continue to expand this program to distribute 200 million doses each year in 30 to 40 countries by 2015.
    Eliminating Mother to Child Transmission of HIV: Since 2003, Johnson & Johnson has implemented programs that help eliminate transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their infants. J&J has pledged additional support over the next four years, as part of the new UN Global Plan to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission and help keep mothers alive.
    R&D Innovations: Johnson & Johnson continues to develop new treatments for HIV and TB and enhance access to these treatments for patients around the world. In May, Johnson & Johnson received U.S. FDA approval for a new HIV medicine, rilpivirine, for patients new to HIV treatment. Though not yet approved outside the U.S., the Company has signed five generic licensing agreements to speed affordable access to the medicine in sub-Saharan Africa, India and least developed countries (LDCs). The company also continues to research treatments in HIV and TB and new technologies to prevent HIV transmission.