Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) said it plans to significantly expand its community health initiatives focused on heart disease and cancer, increasing their reach from 11 countries to more than 30 by 2030. The pharmaceutical company stated that the move is aimed at addressing the slowing progress in combating chronic illnesses across many parts of the world.
The expansion will involve three key programs. The first, Inclusive Health Accelerators, will begin this week in five U.S. cities—New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, and Baltimore—and will focus on improving breast and prostate cancer care through awareness campaigns, expanded screening access, and patient referral services. Another effort, Community Health Initiatives, currently operating in Vietnam, Rwanda, and Bolivia, is set to broaden its presence to at least 10 low- and middle-income countries with the goal of improving the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and cancer.
The third initiative, CARDIO4Cities, developed by the Novartis Foundation, uses real-time health data to help urban areas strengthen cardiovascular care. The program is already active in eight countries—Brazil, the United States, Belgium, Portugal, Finland, Brunei, Singapore, and Australia—and aims to expand to 23 countries by 2030.
“We are going further to bring heart disease and cancer care to communities falling through the gaps in health systems,” said Michelle Weese, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Novartis. “With progress slowing against chronic disease in many countries, and millions missing out on potential treatment, there is an urgent need for new, sustainable solutions to improve access to care.”
Each initiative relies on collaboration with local organizations, health authorities, and private sector partners to improve access to preventive services and early diagnosis. Novartis highlighted a partnership in rural Vietnam that helped double rates of blood pressure control. The CARDIO4Cities program has also shown significant results, delivering three- to six-fold improvements in hypertension control and reducing stroke and heart attack rates within one to two years of implementation.