UNICEF Partner Page

UNICEF

Partner Since 1981

For over 35 years, Johnson & Johnson and UNICEF have worked together to provide life-saving assistance to communities most in need all over the world. Our collaborations in over 20 countries and territories have empowered health workers and strengthened health systems by supporting training, educational opportunities and programs that expand skills, knowledge and access. Additionally, our work to bridge health communication gaps has ensured health workers have access to innovative digital tools that deliver health information directly to their phones, which enables them to better serve their local communities.

In November 2018, Johnson & Johnson and UNICEF embarked on a multi-year partnership to build the capacity of frontline health workers globally. Our shared commitment enables Johnson & Johnson and UNICEF to combine the Company’s support, strong market brand and core business assets with UNICEF’s global reach and deep expertise to help children globally survive and thrive and to extend the impact of frontline health workers. From Lebanon and Uganda to Vietnam and India, our partnership is truly global, multidimensional and deeply impactful.

PARTNERSHIP FOCUS AREAS

Health Worker Skills Development & Training

A robust, trained and motivated healthcare workforce is critical to saving and improving the lives of women, children and their families while also improving national health outcomes. UNICEF and Johnson & Johnson are committed to strengthening the people at the front lines of delivering care and our partnership is helping to bring skills-based training and capacity building to frontline health care workers. These programs help health workers improve their skills and confidence in providing care to the children and mothers who most need it.

_{Program Example:}_{In rural Vietnam we are working to ensure community health workers and midwives receive quality training to better serve new mothers and their newborns in some of the most remote and underserved provinces. Key activities include building the capacity and knowledge of healthcare workers on skilled birth assistance, implementing and scaling early essential newborn care interventions, and educating on pre-and post-natal support.}

Digital Health

Digital tools widen our reach and offer opportunities to more directly impact communities that are often underserved. Our digital health programs support the development, testing and scaling-up of mobile phone apps that enable users to access reliable health information and provide real-time information to health workers. We will continue to advance our digital health work by building innovative tools that benefit health workers and encourage the use of data in health decision making, resulting in better health outcomes for mothers and children.

^{Program Examples:}^{The Family Connect app in Uganda and the HealthyFamily app in China provide health information, reminders and referrals to pregnant and recent mothers. The Health Worker Buddy, a newly launched effort in response to COVID-19, will use an app across multiple countries to allow health workers to access up-to-date medical information, particularly in emergencies.}

Health Worker Resilience & Psychosocial Support

Health workers often face daunting circumstances as they care for ailing individuals, especially those in emergency contexts. The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated just how taxing the work of healthcare providers can be. UNICEF and Johnson & Johnson are committed to addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of frontline health workers. We are working together to support health workers in becoming more resilient through community building and training programs that offer critical psychosocial support by equipping health workers with tools and strategies to maintain their own well-being while caring for others.

^{Program Examples:}^{In India, we are building on our COVID-19 psychosocial support programs to provide mental health resources for health workers. In Brazil, we are creating online modules to help health workers recognize signs of fatigue or mental hardship in their work and offer tools to combat these challenges.}

Health Systems Strengthening

To help children survive and thrive, health systems must be sustainable, resilient and inclusive. Strengthening health systems is critical to ensure that those on the frontline can supply and deliver quality, affordable primary health care. Our programs help strengthen health systems by working to ensure communities are supported by appropriately trained and supervised health personnel, by supporting policy engagements, and by convening multi-stakeholder gathering. We tap into close partnerships with national governments and other private sector partners to advance this work.

^{Program Examples:}^{In Kenya, a consortium-led program provides strategic and policy guidance to the Kenyan Ministry of Health on community health policies nationally. In Lebanon, we are mobilizing and training frontline health workers to support maternal and newborn care, COVID-19 response, and helping to advance policy and advocacy efforts to better connect community and primary health systems.}