The Heart Fund Announces Successful Implementation of Second Cardiac Mobile Clinic and Scaling of 5-Year Medical Program in Côte d’Ivoire Thanks to Partnership with UPL

Tackling medical deserts in rural Côte d’Ivoire

The partnership between The Heart Fund and UPL started in 2020 with the Covid-19 Response program in Côte d’Ivoire alongside the World Heart Organization and the Ministry of Health. Following the success of this first initiative, UPL has funded a new cardiac mobile clinic The Heart Mobile™, the second of its kind developed and operated by The Heart Fund. 

An implementation phase for this second clinic ran from February to July 2021 in collaboration with UPL’s local subsidiary Callivoire, as well as with Abidjan-based Group for Research and Actions against Cardiovascular Diseases and cardiologists from the Institute of Cardiology of Abidjan. 


3,303 kilometers traveled for 3,641 cardiology consultations

During this time, The Heart Mobile™ traveled 3,303 kilometers, carried out 11 prevention and screening campaigns, and offered 3,641 cardiology and imaging consultations to underserved communities. It also trained 98 healthcare providers and introduced state-of-the-art cardiovascular technology in the country. 

"We are extremely pleased to deepen our partnership with UPL and its CEO, Jai Shroff, who shares The Heart Fund’s vision to achieve health justice for all. We believe that we can tackle medical deserts in rural Côte d’Ivoire by bringing the cardiac center and medical teams closer to the population to educate, prevent, and treat if needed. Mobility and technology are key to democratizing access to care, and to advancing cardiology practice in low-ressources settings", explains Dr Luu, Founder of The Heart Fund. 
 

Disrupting the status quo of health inequalities among farming communities 

A renowned global leader in the Chemical and Agri-Inputs industry, UPL helps small growers who are adversely affected by the gap between the medical care available to wealthy urban households and rural farming families, providing smart, affordable, and profitable solutions to the global farming community.

"UPL is excited to partner with Dr Luu and The Heart Fund to help improve healthcare to underserved communities across rural Côte d’Ivoire. Farmers are the backbone of the country, but due to challenges of distance, access, and resources, many of them miss out on getting the early preventative care that is vital to ensuring their good cardiac health. We are proud to support the mission of The Heart Fund in saving lives and improving the health of thousands of farmers and their communities", explains Mr Shroff, CEO of UPL. 

The pilot phase of this 5-year medical program highlighted the tremendous lack of access to cardiovascular care in rural Côte d’Ivoire, with 95% of the beneficiaries stating that they had never seen a cardiologist prior to accessing The Heart Mobile™ ecosystem of care. 

The scaling of this program, which aligns with the World Health Organization’s Sustainable Development Goals, should implement further initiatives to democratize access to care and early diagnosis, and to build local capacities. New partnerships should allow for the funding of new equipment and health technology, as well as for the surgical treatment of patients diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases during the screening campaigns. 
 

Media contact

Sarah Kerjean, Communications coordinator
sarah.kerjean@theheartfund.eu

Partnerships & operations
Virginie Gallardo, Chief Operating Officer
virginie.gallardo@theheartfund.eu

About The Heart Fund
 
Established in 2010 by pediatric cardiac surgeon Dr. David LUU, The Heart Fund (THF) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to democratizing access to cardiovascular care and health education, and to advancing cardiology research and practice in developing countries. From last mile delivery (smart ecosystem The Heart Mobile™) to corrective surgery and epidemiological research, THF has been developing innovative and culturally-relevant solutions to better prevent, assess, and manage chronic diseases in low ressources settings.

The Heart Fund was granted the United Nations - ECOSOC Special Consultative Status in 2018 and has been working with international development agencies (UN, WHO, PAHO, OCHA, PADF), governments, medical companies, as well as with local and international partners of the civil society. It is a member of the World Heart Federation and has offices in Paris and New York City. 

theheartfund.eu 


About UPL 

UPL Ltd. (NSE: UPL & BSE: 512070) is a global provider of sustainable agriculture products & solutions, with annual revenue exceeding $5 billion. We are a purpose-led company. Through OpenAg, UPL is focused on accelerating progress for the food system. We are building a network that is reimagining sustainability, redefining the way an entire industry thinks and works - open to fresh ideas, innovation and new answers as we strive towards our mission to make every single food product more sustainable. As one of the largest agriculture solutions companies worldwide, our robust portfolio consists of biologicals and traditional crop protection solutions with more than 13,600 registrations.

We are present in more than 130 countries, represented by more than 10,000 colleagues globally. UPL is also the largest agricultural input provider for farmers across Côte d’Ivoire providing smart, affordable and sustainable solutions. UPL helps smallholder farmers, many of whom are adversely affected by the gap between the medical care available to households in urban vs rural settings. A renowned global leader in the chemical and agri-inputs industry with over 30 years of experience in both India and internationally, UPL’s Global CEO Jai Shroff, frequently looks to harness the power of collaboration, and is actively involved in the Global Development Agenda, including the World Economic Forum’s Grow Africa and Grow Asia initiatives.

For more information about our integrated portfolio of solutions across the food value chain including seeds, post-harvest, as well as physical and digital services, please visit upl-ltd.com.