Human health and life are top priorities for Sanofi, an international pharmaceutical company operating in Ukraine. The company has been working for decades to provide people with necessary pharmaceutical products and vaccines, as well as to improve the quality of life of patients and especially kids who have health problems.
Not surprising, but the major part of Sanofi’s activities, as a socially responsible company, is closely built around healthcare and disease prevention. Among the company’s charitable focus areas are supporting children with type I diabetes, as well as providing humanitarian help to patients with rare diseases, social campaigns for children from underprivileged families and orphans, and educational projects for healthcare professionals.
By following successful international practices in the field of healthcare and patient support, the company implements important social and educational initiatives in Ukraine that lead to changes in existing approaches to treatment and are aimed at comprehensive support of patients. It is a great example of a business not ignoring people’s problems and – on the contrary – helping to solve them.
The color of my diabetes is gray
“It’s already been four years since I ‘got acquainted’ with my diabetes. And now, this is not that scary disease that could frighten me. Adults say that diabetes is a way of life. No! It is your sparring partner with whom you have to withstand the fight. I am still trying to break even. But one day I will win this fight,” says 16-year-old Mykhailo Kovalevsky, one of the participants of a Sanofi social program for children with type 1 diabetes in 2019.
Like almost 10,000 Ukrainian children, he has diabetes. These kids need to check their blood glucose level several times a day, do insulin injections, and follow a strict diet. Keeping control of the situation permanently is exhausting, so living with such a diagnosis can often be challenging and emotionally difficult. Families from small towns and villages specifically suffer from this condition since children with diabetes can feel lonely and different from others.
In Ukraine, Sanofi found a way to support and help those children who are often left alone with their diagnosis. It is equally important for the company to provide innovative diabetes solutions and to encourage little patients in difficult life circumstances, to introduce them to other children with similar problems, and to create a supportive social network that they need so much.
Sanofi understands the importance and urgency of supporting children with diabetes in Ukraine, thus the company initiated the project ‘Diabetes. Let’s Help Together.’ It aims to support patients and their families, encourage children to be creative, to build a community where patients will be able to find like-minded people and their support, as well as to learn more about living with diabetes from qualified experts, endocrinologists, and show that – despite their diagnosis – they can have a vibrant and active life.
This initiative has been carried out in Ukraine for over 10 years. It started with a drawing contest among children with diabetes. Sanofi wanted to use arts to inspire children to be active and to follow their dreams no matter what. The contest winners had an opportunity to take part in educational health camps and spend time with other children with diabetes, their parents, and endocrinologists, whose support is immensely important for the kids.
Over 3,000 children from all over Ukraine have participated in the contest since the launch of the project. In 2018, 12 teenagers living with type 1 diabetes conquered Mount Hoverla as part of the DiaHoverla project.
In 2019, Sanofi came up with an updated format, a national story contest called ‘Diabetes. Your Story.’ It was created to encourage modern children to write texts for blogs. Creative activities are additional therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes since life with this diagnosis is often stressful because of the need to monitor the disease on a daily basis. Writing texts allows children to share their thoughts, feelings and emotions with the world. The contest winners took part in an educational health camp and flew in hot-air balloons in Kamianets-Podilskyi to demonstrate their courage and prove that diabetes is not an obstacle to reaching any heights.
“We understand that the needs of patients are not limited solely to effective treatment. Thus, Sanofi, as a socially responsible company, sees as its mission the implementation of such projects as ‘Diabetes. Your story’ and many others to empower children with chronic conditions to discover their capabilities and feel that they’re getting the support they need. When we partner together — with charitable funds, kids’ associations, local communities and state — there is no limit to the number of little lives we can change. This is all about empowering opportunities for a healthy and active life. This is our mission,” said Adrien Delamare-Deboutteville, Country Lead, Sanofi Ukraine.
Sanofi’s initiatives, such as these, help children to socialize, to create a kind of support group, a community where everyone understands each other’s problems and the difficulties they may face every day. These are the things that money can’t buy. The company believes that diabetes should be discussed as a global problem, that patients with diabetes should be integrated into active social life, and initiatives that are designed to prevent disease should be launched on national level – on a regular basis and especially now, in time of COVID-19, which could lead to more serious complications in people living with diabetes.
Every life is valuable and important
Since 2002, the company has been implementing a humanitarian program by Sanofi Genzyme. It provides necessary treatment for patients with rare diseases who need additional and urgent support. Very often, this program remains the only opportunity for Ukrainian patients to receive much needed and life-saving medications.
Treatment for patients with rare diseases is vital, but its high cost makes it unaffordable for a typical family and patients with rare diseases are normally treated through government programs and at public expense. Sometimes, due to particularities of the legislation, the process between the diagnosis and admission of a patient to the government program may take some time. That’s where the humanitarian program plays an important role helping rare disease patients not to lose precious time while receiving necessary treatment.
Now, 20 Ukrainian patients are getting their treatment within Sanofi’s Genzyme humanitarian program. In total, more than 50 people with rare diseases have received aid within this program in Ukraine.
In addition to the humanitarian program, Sanofi also provides support with diagnostics of rare diseases and trains medical professionals in this sphere. Thanks to this program, many of them have gained their first experience in treating a patient with a rare disease.
In May 2020, a 12-year-old girl from Mykolaiv who suffers from mucopolysaccharidosis type 1, subtype Scheie, joined the humanitarian program in Ukraine. The doctors could diagnose and recognize this rare disease only in 2019, nine years after the appearance of the first symptoms.
After the girl was diagnosed, she needed urgent treatment. Sanofi’s Genzyme Medical Commission in Boston analysed the clinical state of the girl and confirmed her grave condition. After that, the patient became a participant of the humanitarian program.
“We realized that this child was at risk of losing her life if she did not receive proper enzyme replacement therapy right at that moment. Considering such a long journey for this girl to be diagnosed, we just couldn’t ignore her. After all, one of our key priorities in Sanofi is the continuous support of patients and their health. Despite today’s difficult circumstances, with the pandemic and instability dominating the world’s affairs, we, as a socially responsible company, constantly keep fulfilling our obligations and helping patients who need life-saving treatment. With this decision, we are also striving to support the government by reducing the financial burden on the state rare disease patient treatment program,”Sanofi said.
Corporate giving is at the core of Sanofi culture
Supporting underserved children and orphans is another focus of Sanofi’s social agenda in Ukraine. Every year the company’s employees, in cooperation with charitable foundations, organize a series of charity events. Thanks to such internal corporate engagement, Sanofi supports children in difficult life situations and keeps them going.
Traditionally, on the eve of the Christmas holidays, Sanofi invites children from underprivileged families and orphanages to participate in holiday workshops and charity parties. During these activities, children handcraft New Year decorations, which are later purchased by the company’s employees. The proceeds usually go to necessary things for the children.
A couple of years ago, Sanofi employees founded a library in the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialized Hospital. They regularly bring books and craft supplies to help children undergoing treatment in the hospital to improve their emotional condition through reading and creative activities.
During the quarantine, the projects were reshaped but did not cease. Thus, Sanofi organized interactive online tours around Ukrainian cities for the children of employees, inviting also children from the orphanages to join this journey. This is a way to express support for the children and show that they are cared for despite the quarantine restrictions.
Several years in a row, the company’s employees passionately join the charity initiative of the Tabletochki Charity Fund, which helps children with cancer. In 2020, given the quarantine, the initiative was held online. During Lemonade Day, an event already famous in Ukraine, Sanofi colleagues shared their recipes for homemade lemonades on an internal social network and donated funds to the organization’s account for the treatment of children with oncological diseases.
Patients’ lives and health have always been key priorities for the company. The projects in these areas, together with the charitable and social initiatives of Sanofi in Ukraine, are the company’s contribution to the building of a healthy and educated nation. After all, a strong and stable state is an important prerequisite for the company’s operations and the wellbeing of its employees.
