Project HOPE Receives 2017 AmCham Shanghai CSR Innovation Award

Project HOPE’s Pediatric Asthma Prevention and Management Program in China was awarded the CSR Innovation Award by AmCham Shanghai for innovations the program has made to address pediatric asthma in China.

The award is presented annually to a corporation or social organization which has introduced new innovative programs, ideas, or projects that address complex social or environmental issues or needs in China. The finalists for the award are selected by a panel of judges and then the winner is selected by a public vote.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases for children, especially in China. Over 3 percent of all children in China have asthma, including over 7.5 percent in Shanghai. Most patients in the country have to travel long distances to go to crowded pediatric hospitals because lower-level hospitals lack the resources to provide adequate asthma care and treatment. As a result, the control rate for pediatric asthma in the country is under 5 percent.

PODCAST: Every Breath China Takes

In order to improve the situation, HOPE initiated a three-year program with Shanghai Children’s Medical Center and 14 community health service centers in Pudong district of Shanghai City in 2015. Through the program, HOPE has introduced reasonable medication to primary hospitals, a two-way referral system between tertiary and community health centers, an app to track patient condition, and most importantly, improved capacity to solve the pediatric asthma care shortage problem.