providers, governments, patients, caregivers, livestock and pet owners, consumers and, of course, ourselves. Our strategy Sustainable Development – For Generations incorporates three pillars: More Health , More Potential and More Green . The strategy aims to holistically address health equity, as well as the interdependence of human, animal and environmental health, in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. By 2030 we aim to positively impact the lives of 50 million people in underserved communities around the world. Our goal is to harness the power of social innovation to tackle these challenges and create solutions that have sustainable impact. We do this by connecting complementary initiatives across the continuum. Our long-term initiative Making More Health – MMH – focuses on partnering with a global network of innovative social entrepreneurs and collaborating with underserved communities. In other initiatives we use complementary approaches, including funding and supporting social enterprises. We are co-creating with our employees and like-minded stakeholders across the entire continuum with the goal of enabling an ecosystem of impact. ADOPTING THE POWER OF DRONES Most recently, we have begun leveraging our ecosystem and collaborating with partners to use drone technology to help close the last-mile gap for more efficient and cost-effective vaccine delivery. In Africa’s expanding poultry industry, vaccines protect animal and human health, which in turn supports food safety and security. Improving poultry immunity, health and productivity are critical to address to ensure the industry’s continued success and the health of the communities the industry supports. 1 Another healthcare challenge is rabies, a viral disease present in over 150 countries, predominantly in Africa and Asia. Rabies results in tens of thousands of human deaths annually, 40% of which are children and 99% caused by dog bites. 2 Those deaths are preventable through animal vaccines. A key challenge, though, is finding ways to securely transport and continuously cool vaccine doses, to ensure they are readily accessible and effective, even in remote communities. In 2022, Boehringer Ingelheim IMETA – the company’s regional operating unit serving India, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa – identified a solution with Zipline, a company specialising in on-demand drone delivery, and assembled a cross-functional team. To optimise the vaccine drone project’s effectiveness, we integrated it into our sustainable development ecosystem of local communities, NGOs, social businesses and entrepreneurs. Key to success is on-site understanding through local partners who recognise the potential benefits and can leverage the necessary infrastructure on the ground. One partner for the initial drone delivery vaccine project was Cowtribe, a last-mile veterinary delivery social start-up in Ghana, which employs technology to help coordinate deliveries of veterinary vaccines and other animal health products to rural and underserved communities. Through its logistics platform based on demand optimisation, Cowtribe can dramatically reduce costs for the farmer. Boehringer Ingelheim has supported Cowtribe since 2019, and last year made the Ghanaian company the first recipient of a grant from our social impact fund, Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement, which provides investment and non-financial support to further scale and expand the impact of entrepreneurial businesses.
(Clockwise from left) A dog waiting for its rabies vaccine in Kenya; Dr Joseph Kitur receiving drone-delivered vaccination batches; rabies vaccination drive at the GAASPP community organisation
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Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration
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