Extensive initiative to improve child healthcare
GSK's partnership with Save the Children effectively engages in child treatment, vaccination and health worker support in 31 countries.

GSK
Globally
Maternal and child health
Developing medicines, training healthcare workers and increasing vaccination
To prevent one million preventable child deaths
In 2013, GSK partnered with Save the Children in a long-term strategic initiative to pave the way for access to medicine and help save the lives of a million children under the age of five. Their initial collaboration was extended in 2018 to continue until the end of 2023. The partnership continues to strive to make long-term impact and create sustainable solutions.
Overall, the partnership focuses on maternal and child health and addresses such issues as inequity, malnutrition, disease and empowerment. It oversees a wide range of projects in liaison with the national health ministries and GSK contributes by donating child-friendly medicines and vaccines, among other activities. The partnership also seeks to strengthen health systems by, for example, investing in training for healthcare workers, improving vaccination coverage in hard-to-reach areas and working with local partners to strengthen the supply chain.
Outcomes and impact
Between 2013 and 2019, the partnership reached nearly three million children under the age of five. It has treated 282,921 cases of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea, fully vaccinated 118,057 children and supported more than 15,000 community health workers.
The partnership effectively engages in child treatment, vaccination and health worker support.
In 2018, the Index recognised this partnership as a best practice. GSK remains exemplary in meeting all Good Practice Standards – among others, strong governance structure, understanding of local needs, integration and transparency. It also demonstrates scalability having expanded its geographic scope to a total of 31 countries in scope of the Index. Projects include Colombia, Indonesia and Mozambique, a new partnership in Nigeria with University College London and Nigerian university UCH Ibadan and the continued deployment of an outcome and impact assessment framework.
Many of the partnership projects measure their outcomes and impact by partnering with academic institutions and research organisations. In Nigeria, for example, University College London and the Nigerian university UCH Ibadan have facilitated a needs assessment and situational analysis to understand specific local needs and to identify factors that prevent the reduction of pneumonia-led mortality. This research was published in a peer-reviewed journal* and GSK reports a commitment to ensuring the outcomes of the initiative are published.