Making healthcare accessible for underserved populations

AXA is launching a $300m Health initiative to facilitate access to healthcare for underserved populations in emerging and mature markets to address, amongst other global health issues, women’s specific health conditions such as maternal health.

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Today healthcare access is put to the test, facing challenges such as an increase in chronic diseases, impacts of climate change and migration. The Covid-19 pandemic has only made the public more vulnerable to health risks, questioning sustainability of public health systems, both short- and long-term. As healthcare systems are coming under more stress due to population ageing, public finances are also getting more strained.

In this context, AXA has committed $300m to a Health initiative, managed by AXA Investment Managers and designed to facilitate access to healthcare for underserved populations in emerging and mature markets. This initiative will support, amongst other global health issues, treatment of women’s specific health conditions as well as infectious diseases, vision and diabetes/obesity related conditions. The strategy will be launched in the first quarter of 2022.

Thomas Buberl

Chief Executive Officer of AXA

The pandemic has shown how critical access to quality health solutions is. With this new investment initiative, we aim to make a concrete impact on the lives of undeserved populations by supp4orting the development of innovative and adapted healthcare solutions. It is another proof of our Purpose to act for human progress by protecting what matters.

Through our asset manager, AXA Investment Managers, we have committed to bring leading industry professionals onboard to create an expert global health investment team. Combining the discipline of private equity healthcare investing with a clearly defined purpose and intentionality to address inequalities at a global scale, this investment strategy seeks to build a bridge from high income markets to high volume markets. It will focus on four categories of products: medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and diagnostics. The initiative will target investment opportunities in global health (Diabetes & Obesity, Vision Care & Blindness, Infectious diseases, Maternal & child health, Other conditions with high prevalence in low-income countries).