my child matters -...

PRESS KIT

FEBRUARY 2016

My Child Matters :10 YEARS’ COMMITMENT TO FIGHTING CHILDHOOD CANCERS

My Child Matters: 10 years’ commitment to fighting childhood cancers 2

SUMMARY

My Child Matters : is a Sanofi Espoir Foundation initiative to improve the survival rate of children with cancer in limited-resource countries

2006 Program launched and first calls for projects

2006-2016 45 projects supported in 33 countries on 3 continents (Africa, Asia and Latin America)

A multidisciplinary approach

• Training for health professionals

• Decentralizing care

• Building a network of health professionals

• Setting up cancer registers

• Supporting pain management actions, palliative care and psycho-social support

• Information campaigns

Main partners

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA

• Société Internationale d’Onco-Pédiatrie (SIOP, International Society

of Pediatric Oncology)

• Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)

• Groupe Franco-Africain d’Oncologie pédiatrique (GFAOP; French-African pediatric oncology group).

• Children Cancer Institute (CCI)


projects in 33 countries

45

IN 10 YEARS

Countries of location of the My Child Matters’ projects n ocatocatCouCouC Matters’ projects Matters’ projecrsation of ton oation of t yM

16,000 healthcare professionals trained

25,000 families helped

50,000 children taken

into care

My Child Mattersprogram

since 2006

Childhood cancer around the world

175,000new cases of pediatric

cancer every year

(source: SIOP November 2013) (source: IUCC)

The survival rate

varies from 10% to 80% depending on the resources

of the country

FIGHTING CHILDHOOD CANCERS:

10 years’ commitment from the Sanofi Espoir Foundation via the My Child Matters program

Surviving until the age of five for a child with cancer varies from 10 à 80% depending on the country’s resources (source: UICC).

“The net improvement in survi-val rates for pediatric cancers in developed countries shows that a number of these cancers can be cured.”

“No child should die from can-cer when treatment is avai-lable.”Dr. Raul Ribeiro, pediatric oncologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (USA) and President of the expert committee for the My Child Matters program


My Child Matters is a Sanofi Espoir

Foundation initiative started in 2006

to improve the survival rate of children

with cancer in limited-resource coun-

tries.

The program is run with the support

of experts from St. Jude Children’s

Research Hospital and associations

such as the Société Internationale

d’Onco-Pédiatrie (SIOP), the Union for

International Cancer Control (UICC),

the Franco-African Pediatric Oncology

(GFAOP) and the Children’s Cancer

Institute (CCI).

It combines financial aid with support

from international experts and networ-

king to strengthen each link in the

healthcare chain.

Institutions, hospitals and NGOs can submit projects that are examined

by an expert committee chaired by

Dr. Raul Ribeiro, pediatric oncologist

at St Jude Children’s Research Hospi-tal (USA).

This committee comprises world ex-

perts on childhood cancers and

public child healthcare. It selects

projects and decides on granting financial support and the backing of a mentor who will accompany the

project leader throughout the three-

year renewable project.


My Child Matters OPERATES AT SEVERAL LEVELS:

• Training health professionals in pediatric oncology to improve the care of the children;

• Decentralizing care so that children are cared for near their homes;

• Building networks of health professionals, both decentralized and cross-regional;

• Creating cancer registers to monitor the local epidemiological situation and track patients;

• Support for actions to manage pain, provide palliative care and psycho-social support for families and carers;

• Advocacy actions, especially in partnership with the Union for the International Control of Cancer - UICC;

• Information campaigns targeting families and the general public so they can reco-gnize disease symptoms and improve early diagnoses.

In ten years, 45 projects have been supported by the Sanofi

Espoir Foundation in 33 countries. Some 50,000 children

have been cared for, 25,000 families helped, and 16,000 health professionals trained through the action of the My Child Matters program.

“The local success of these projects has led a num-ber of governments to recognize cancer as a child health priority. Thanks to this type of decision, we can improve the management of child cancers in a sustainable way.”Dr. Anne Gagne-pain Lacheteau, Medical Director of the Sanofi Espoir Foundation

My Child Matters IN MOROCCO: a project focused on training



“Let’s train good people who are prepare to stay in their country; that is how we can kick-start the healthcare system and why a di-ploma is essential.”Prof. Mhamed Harif, President of the GFAOP

BACKGROUND: the fight against childhood cancers in Morocco and more generally in Africa is undermined by a growing health workforce deficit

• The practice of pediatric oncology in Africa is continent-specific. It has to deal with an epidemiological scale, scarcity of resources and a socio-cultural context that is largely influenced by ancestral beliefs and traditional medicine;

• Although in Africa the causes of child mortality are still dominated by infectious and nutritional pathologies, childhood cancers are beco-ming one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity;

• About 1,000 new cases of cancer in children under 15 are dia-gnosed annually in Morocco;

• Acute leukemia is the most common disease, followed by lympho-mas.

PROJECT: train health professionals in pediatric oncology by taking into account African specificities

• Targeted diploma course for doctors:

• In 2014, the Franco-African Pediatric Oncology Group (GFAOP), which is headquartered at the Institut Gustave Roussy (France), has with the support of My Child Matters created an inter-university diploma in pediatric oncology (DIUOP) as part of a partnership between the faculty of medicine of Rabat (Morocco) and the medical faculty at the Université Paris-Sud (France).

• Professional training for other players in the healthcare chain:

• Intensive upgrading courses for health professionals such as nurses and technicians are available in Morocco.

• The introduction of care facilities:

• Since 2000, the GFAOP has established pilot units to support child-ren in the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa;

• My Child Matters is engaged in rehabilitating health facilities in Senegal, Mali and Cameroon;

• In parallel, the program has started various projects in Morocco in the fields of pain management and early diagnosis.

RESULTS: the first twin-university diploma in African pediatric oncology

• 2015: first pediatric oncology class with over 80% graduates among the 26 students from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa;

• Three-year goal: train 70 pediatric oncologists; this will give Francophone Africa significant assets in pediatric oncology skills;

• As a result of intensive courses, a genuine sharing community has been established that will help increase learning and enhance the local network dynamic.

My Child Matters IN PARAGUAY: a project focused on neighborhood care



BACKGROUND: the fight against childhood cancers in Paraguay is facing strong regional inequalities

• In Paraguay, 30% of the population has no access to the healthcare system;

• Each year, cancer is diagnosed in every 400 children;

• Cancer is the second leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 19;

• For 80% of children living in rural areas, the chances of a cure are virtually nil.

PROJECT: Develop a community care network and provide training in pediatric oncology

In 2009, the healthcare network “Red Nacional para la Asunción al Can-cer Infantil” (RENACI) was set up with the support of My Child Matters to bring access to care closer to home for patients by:

• Training health professionals in the early diagnosis of various forms of cancer (leukemia, lymphoma, etc.);

• Creating four regional pediatric clinics to fight cancer;

• Establishing social assistance to decrease the number of treatment dropouts and provide support to patients, their families and health personnel.

RESULTS: 0% of children drop out of their treatment thanks to the implementation of satellite clinics

• The survival rate of children with cancer has doubled since 2009;

• The RENACI network was declared to be of public interest by the President of the Republic of Paraguay in August 2009;

• Since the launch of the program, 4,904 doctors and 1,600 nurses have been trained.

“The action taken by the govern-ment to raise awareness that children’s cancers are curable has been a major contributor to the provision of resources.”Dr. Angelica Samudio, Head of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology - Asunción Hospital de Clinicas, National University Asunción.

My Child Matters IN THE PHILIPPINES: the development of an integrated approach



BACKGROUND: the fight against childhood cancers is hampe-red by a lack of early diagnosis and treatment monitoring

• About 3,500 Filipino children develop cancer each year. Only 1/3 of these cancers are diagnosed and treated in health facilities;

• Leukemia, lymphoma and retinoblastoma account for between 60 and 70% of childhood cancers identified in hospitals;

• Less than 20% of children manage to survive their cancer over the long term;

• 2/3 of cases are at an advanced stage when either cures are no lon-ger possible or only very aggressive, expensive treatments are avai-lable;

• Families often forego treatment because of its cost;

• A significant number of patients is unable to attend follow-up visits, which results in a treatment dropout rate of almost 80%;

• Only 20 pediatric onco-hematologists in 2006 for a population of 100 million.

PROJECT: Building an integrated approach to improve the sur-vival rate

Initiated in 2006 with institutional and voluntary local partners, the pro-gram supported by My Child Matters has been working for ten years along the entire healthcare chain:

• Information provision via an awareness campaign for early detec-tion targeting health professionals and families;

• Neighborhood care by setting up a network of 37 facilities for child-ren to be taken care of outside the capital city, closer to home;

• The training of all health professionals, from pediatric oncologists and nurses to pharmacists;

• Government commitment to promote treatment coverage by the national health insurance system.

RESULTS: The treatment dropout rate has been divided by eight in ten years

• 70% of cancers diagnosed at an early stage, compared to 30% pre-viously;

• 56 specialists trained oncology-and hematology;

• A reduction in the treatment dropout rate from 80% to 5%;

• A fourfold increase in the survival rate;

• Recognition of pediatric oncology as a professional discipline in the Philippines.

“The central problem for the appro-priate management of cancers in the Philippines is that two-thirds of the children arrive too late at the Manila hospital.”

“Very late-stage diagnosis, the ex-pense of treatments, treatment dropouts, and false beliefs are all obstacles that explain the low survival rate that we observed at the outset.”Dr. Julius Lecciones, Executive Director, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Manila

The Sanofi Espoir Foundation was created in October 2010 by the Sanofi Group to capitalize on over 20 years of international commitment to solidarity. It is tasked with helping reduce health inequalities among populations who are most in need by means of a socially responsible approach. Its work focuses on three main areas: fighting childhood cancers in developing countries, figh-ting maternal and neonatal mortality, and ensuring access to healthcare for the most vulnerable communities in France. In 2015, the Foundation supported the development of 36 programs that provided medical care to some 800,000 people and training for 2,900 health players in 31 countries.For more informations : www.fondation-sanofi-espoir.com

The Sanofi Espoir Foundation

Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes the-rapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. Sanofi has core strengths in diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EU-RONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

The Sanofi Group

For more informationhttp:/www.rse-sanofi.com

Media ContactCoralie Savin

Media Relations

Tel. : +33 (0)1 53 77 46 46

[email protected]

Photo credits: Front cover, page 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11: Félix Vigne / IMAGEO - page 6: Sanofi

Design: Sanofi - February 2016

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