DT News - UK - GSK to join health-care programme for poorest children

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 14 May 2013

save

LONDON – Global health-care company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has entered into a new partnership with Save the Children, an independent organisation that helps children in need around the world. The collaboration aims at tackling some of the leading causes of newborn and infant death. Their aim is to provide children in the most remote and marginalised communities with basic health care.

In order to prevent children from dying from preventable diseases, Save the Children, which works in more than 120 countries, will be involved in helping GSK to research and develop medicines for children and establishing a joint research and development board to improve interventions for children under 5.

Among other initiatives, the organisations will work on reformulating the antiseptic chlorhexidine, a disinfectant commonly used in mouthwash, for cleansing the umbilical cord of newborns to prevent serious infections, a major cause of early childhood death. They also seek to widen vaccination coverage through a greater use of mobile technology solutions. In order to combat malnutrition, both organisations announced that the team in Kenya is investigating the development of a low-cost product. In addition, they will invest in health care workers in poor communities. GSK committed to donating at least £15 million (€17.7 million) over the course of the partnership.

embedImagecenter("Imagecenter_1_776",776, "large");

Initially, two flagship programmes will be run in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the company stated. More programmes are planned in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to GSK, almost seven million children died in 2011 owing to a lack of access to basic health care, vaccines or nutritious food, yet simple interventions could prevent up to one in six newborn deaths in low-resource settings.

To post a reply please login or register

Henry Schein UK joins child oral health programme

SHEERNESS – Last week, Henry Schein UK, an affiliate of Henry Schein, one of the world’s largest providers of dental care products and services,...

National programme improves dental health of children in Wales

CARDIFF, UK: The Welsh Government’s Designed to Smile programme has succeeded in its mission to improve children’s oral health. According to the...

Diet and status are to blame for tooth decay in children

EDINBURGH & GLASGOW, UK: Brushing twice a day is usually considered the most effective measure to maintain oral health in children. New research in ...

Clearance for HIV-positive health care workers

LONDON – The Department of Health (DoH) has announced a system of health clearance for healthcare workers living with HIV whose disease is adequately ...

Dentist health scare – shocking, but rare

The recent news that 22,000 patients of a Nottinghamshire dentist are being contacted and offered testing for blood-borne diseases, such as HIV and ...

Oral health programme for Welsh elderly has its funding doubled

CARDIFF, UK: Thanks to improved healthcare and living conditions, and a range of other factors, life expectancy in the UK has been increasing steadily in ...

Clinical governance—A system for better health care

While accountability and improvement have been eminent in health care systems for quite some time, there is probably no other time in history when the ...

Report shows oral health gap is closing for Scottish children

EDINBURGH, Scotland: Oral health in Scotland’s child population is generally improving, but the British Dental Association (BDA) Scotland has recently ...

Ireland receives millions from EIB for new health care facilities

DUBLIN, Ireland: Work on more than a dozen new primary care health centres across Ireland began last week after the European Investment Bank (EIB) ...

Interview: Athletes are very receptive to improving their oral health for better performance

Studies have consistently reported poor oral health in elite athletes, the detrimental effects of which not only impact their general health, but also their...

Education

Live webinar
Mon. 29 April 2024
5:30 pm UTC (London)