At sanofi-aventis, we recognize that our responsibilities as a healthcare partner include not only providing effective medicines for patients, but also supporting health-related initiatives in the communities where our employees live and work.

We support programs that help patients better manage their health, promote a healthier lifestyle in general, generate awareness of important health topics and address the health needs of children. 

We give priority to not-for-profit activities that fall within one of our key therapeutic areas: cardiology, thrombosis, oncology, metabolic disorders and internal medicine. 

Support for research and education
Sanofi-aventis also supports research that seeks to improve standards of health care in Canada. Examples include:

• the Chair in Patient Health Management at the University of Alberta;
• the Population Health Institute Chair in Diabetes Research at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario; and
• the Canadian Council for Research in Disease Management.                 

Along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, we are a founder of the Canada-HOPE Scholarship, which promotes international collaborative research by providing training and mentoring opportunities to scholars from developing countries. 

Support for developing countries
On the international scene, we donate medications to help the needy worldwide through the charitable organization Health Partners International of Canada. We also join with sanofi-aventis affiliates around the world in support of company-wide initiatives such as World Solidarity Day, held in January 2005 to raise funds for communities in Southeast Asia affected by the December 2004 tsunami.