On September 25, during the celebratory event marking the twentieth anniversary of Chiesi Foundation, the Foundation announced an important change: starting this moment, it will officially take on the name of Paolo Chiesi Foundation, in honor of its founder, Dr. Paolo Chiesi, who passed away in 2024.
The event, titled “Accelerating Change: A Dialogue on the Future of Healthcare in the Global South”, was held at the Chiesi Group Headquarters in Parma and represented a moment of reflection on the path taken and the future challenges awaiting the Foundation. In addition to retracing its main milestones, the day featured distinguished international guests such as Dr. Queen Dube, pediatrician and epidemiologist, currently Head of the Newborn Health Program at the World Health Organization, who has led crucial initiatives including Malawi’s Every Newborn Action Plan and the NEST 360 program; and Professor Refiloe Masekela, President of the Pan African Thoracic Society and Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, internationally recognized for her research on pediatric asthma and recipient of the prestigious World Lung Health Award. The dialogue, moderated by Vittorio Longhi, journalist and writer, offered concrete insights into the future of neonatal and respiratory care in the Global South: from systemic challenges that persist in low- and middle-income countries, to the need for building stable collaborative networks, and the importance of training local healthcare providers and adopting sustainable, context-specific solutions.
The name change is a decision that carries deep meaning, rooted in a journey that began on April 14, 2005, when Dr. Paolo Chiesi, scientist and entrepreneur, decided to create an organization that combined scientific knowledge with social responsibility, with a clear goal: to act where access to basic healthcare is still a privilege and to promote health as a universal right.
Over these twenty years, that idea has taken shape in many ways. From the creation of intervention models such as the NEST (Neonatal Essentials for Survival and Thriving), which has helped reduce neonatal mortality in several French-speaking Sub-Saharan African countries, and the GASP (Global Access to Sustainable Pulmonology), designed to improve the lives of people affected by chronic respiratory diseases. Today, the Foundation operates in thirteen countries of the Global South across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, working closely with international organizations, local institutions, healthcare providers, and communities to strengthen skills, improve access to care, and reduce inequalities.
But behind these initiatives and projects runs the guiding thread of Paolo Chiesi’s vision: that scientific knowledge must be shared, borders must be broken down, and organizations have the responsibility to look beyond their own boundaries. For this reason, the new name, Paolo Chiesi Foundation, is not only a tribute to the memory of the one who made this journey possible, but also a way to carry forward his vision and turn it into a concrete commitment.
However, the name change also marks another evolution: it highlights the Foundation’s intention to establish itself as an autonomous and recognizable organization, while remaining linked, in values and spirit, to the Chiesi Group. The growth of the past twenty years has transformed the Foundation from a grant-maker into an operational partner, from a supporter into a key player in health cooperation projects. Today, it is an actor capable of engaging with international institutions, universities, NGOs, and local governments.
With Paolo Chiesi Foundation, this work continues, but with a new awareness: that of being a mature and respected institution, ready to face the challenges of today and tomorrow, with a broader vision and an even more defined identity. The Foundation aims to remain faithful to its mission – building a future in which every person, everywhere in the world, can have fair access to quality healthcare – but it will do so with an increasingly forward-looking perspective and with a name that carries the inspiration of the one who first imagined it all.
