BD Signs World Economic Forum's Zero Health Gaps Pledge

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Dec 11, 2023, 06:55 ET

Company Reinforces its Longstanding Commitment to Help Improve Health Equity and Expand Access to Care Among Vulnerable Populations

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today announced it signed the World Economic Forum's Zero Health Gaps Pledge, which reinforces the company's longstanding commitment to help expand access and improve health equity in under-resourced communities around the world. The global, multi-sector pledge includes ten commitments which embed health equity principles across company strategy and social investments, ultimately aiming to accelerate progress toward equity and drive positive health outcomes.

Comments from BD Leadership: Shana Neal, EVP and Chief People Officer; Tony Ezell, EVP North America and Chief Marketing Officer; Caitlin Asjes, Senior Director of Global Public Health

BD volunteers support a health system in Cameroon during one of the company's time-honored Volunteer Service Trips.

Comments from BD Leadership: Shana Neal, EVP and Chief People Officer, President of the BD Foundation; Sien Avalos, Director of Social Investing and Vice President of the BD Foundation

"A health system's ability to provide patients with access to critical, lifesaving health technologies should not be conditional on its geography, or its patients' demographics and socioeconomic status," said Tom Polen, chairman, CEO and president of BD. "For more than 125 years, we've been creating new technologies that improve the quality of life for billions of patients, but those innovations won't matter if the people who need them most cannot access them. Using our scale and influence as a global medical technology company, we're working alongside industry leaders, policymakers and advocates to advance meaningful change for patients around the world."

From supplying syringes to enable the world's first polio vaccine trial, to expanding access to HIV and tuberculosis testing, and delivering millions of tests and two billion syringes to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, BD has helped strengthen health systems and expand access to the most vulnerable populations around the world. In the company's Fiscal Year 2022 environmental, social and governance report, BD stated how it will continue advancing health equity through three areas of opportunity:

Technology and innovation. Leveraging the global reach of its products, research, solutions, and expertise to help ensure health systems, health care workers, and patients have access to life-saving technologies, regardless of geography, demographics, or socioeconomic status.
Public-private partnerships. Partnering with a network of governments and global humanitarian organizations to help support and advocate for health systems that serve under-represented populations around the world and help create an enabling environment to increase health care access.
Investment in health system strengthening. Making investments that build, strengthen, and maintain critical competencies and resources that are needed to improve the delivery of care within under-resourced settings.

Through this scope BD is committed to helping address the root causes of health inequities. The company's efforts have included recent work in Kenya and Colombia to support early cervical cancer screening through self-collection; serving as a founding member of the Global HPV Consortium; expanding capacity for AMR diagnostics across low- and middle-income countries; providing point-of-care diagnostic tools to U.S.-based free and charitable clinics for on-site testing; and deploying volunteers to North Macedonia, Kosovo and Eswatini to help train health care workers in significantly under-resourced health systems.

Learn more about BD's commitment to creating a healthier, more equitable world by visiting the BD newsroom.

About BD
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its more than 70,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/, X (formerly Twitter) @BDandCo or Instagram @becton_dickinson.

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