For more than twenty years we have been committed to improving health in the world

For more than twenty years we have been committed to improving health in the world

Our story

The Paolo Chiesi Foundation is a philanthropic organization established by Paolo Chiesi and his family, inspired by the belief that every person has the right to access quality healthcare and live a healthy life.

It aims to reduce neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and improve the health of patients affected by chronic respiratory diseases in the Global South.​

The Foundation supports international scientific research and local development programs to transfer medical-scientific knowledge and to empower families in the healthcare process, promoting sustainable growth and strengthening local communities’ responsibility and engagement.​

Founded in Parma (Italy) in 2005 and operational since 2010, the Paolo Chiesi Foundation operates today in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Guyana, Nepal, Peru, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda.​

Neonatologia - Chiesi Foundation

In 2030, at a global level, the Paolo Chiesi Foundation is the main actor in the implementation of the NEST and GASP models, two effective and sustainable models in the management of quality neonatal care and chronic respiratory diseases in the countries of the Global South, respectively. The implementation of the two models within the reference healthcare facilities improves access to quality care, in particular for premature, sick or underweight babies through the NEST Model and for patients affected by chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD through the GASP Model. Through the implementation of these two models, the Paolo Chiesi Foundation will generate a cultural change and empower the healthcare workforce of the future. As climate change represents one of the greatest threats to global health with immediate and long-term consequences, especially for the most vulnerable populations, the Paolo Chiesi Foundation takes concrete actions to address the climate crisis, as stated in the NEST and GASP models. The principles of equity and women’s empowerment are at the heart of the work carried out by the Paolo Chiesi Foundation.

The Paolo Chiesi Foundation works to improve the quality of life of patients and their families affected by neonatal conditions and chronic respiratory diseases in the Global South through cost-effective interventions:

  1. providing a package of innovative and sustainable technologies for healthcare facilities
  2. providing technical support and capacity building for health workers and the empowerment of patients and their families
  3. supporting the creation of a hub & spoke model and developing a perinatal network of health facilities
  4. creating strategic partnerships with local and international stakeholders
  5. improving data quality.

The Paolo Chiesi Foundation works in close collaboration with local governments and ministries of health, hospitals and health workers, mothers and newborns and their families, universities, NGOs and development actors.

Our values

Sense of responsibility towards society and the environment

Dissemination of scientific knowledge without borders or restrictions

Equity through caring for those who suffer

Our areas of intervention

Neonatology

The NEST Model – Neonatal Essentials for Survival and Thriving – is a program developed and implemented in collaboration with several hospitals, NGOs, institutions, and universities. It aims to contribute to improving access to quality neonatal care in sub-Saharan African countries, with a particular focus on French-speaking countries.

Pulmonology

The GASP Model – Global Access to Sustainable Pulmonology involves the development of a model of diagnostic and clinical skills specific to the management of chronic respiratory diseases, with particular reference to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Maria Paola Chiesi

“We are committed to improving the health and alleviating the suffering of patients affected by respiratory diseases and neonatal pathologies, improving the quality of life for them and their families.”

Maria Paola Chiesi, President Paolo Chiesi Foundation

Strategy

The Paolo Chiesi Foundation’s 2030 Strategy outlines a clear path to consolidate its role as an innovative and authoritative player in the field of global health.

Through international and local partnerships, field implementation, capacity building, and research activities, the Foundation aims to expand its impact while strengthening its independence and credibility.

This strategy provides a direction for making an ongoing contribution to equitable, evidence-based healthcare for populations around the world.

Neonatologia - Chiesi Foundation
Sud Globale - Chiesi Foundation

We promote scientific research in the field of neonatal and respiratory health.

Through our programs, the Foundation wants to play a role as a catalyst of ideas, tools, and resources, and facilitate dialogue and relationships between the different stakeholders involved.

We contribute to the development of the countries of the South of the world, through the transfer of scientific means and knowledge.

We work to ensure that NEST and GASP models are recognized at an institutional level as effective, sustainable, and replicable models in countries where there is most need, to create virtuous circles of development.

We support projects that promote the full realization of the right to health of the populations most in need.

We collect and analyze data, evidence and practices that allow constant comparison with all our stakeholders to improve access and quality of service offered in the field of neonatology and pulmonology.

Neonatologia - Chiesi Foundation

We promote scientific research in the field of neonatal and respiratory health.

Through our programs, the Foundation wants to play a role as a catalyst of ideas, tools, and resources and facilitate dialogue and relationships between the different stakeholders involved.

We contribute to the development of the countries of the South of the world, through the transfer of scientific means and knowledge.

We work to ensure that NEST and GASP models are recognized at an institutional level as effective, sustainable, and replicable models in countries where there is most need, to create virtuous circles of development.

We support projects that promote the full realization of the right to health of the populations most in need.

We collect and analyze data, evidence and practices that allow constant comparison with all our stakeholders to improve access and quality of service offered in the field of neonatology and pulmonology.

Sud Globale - Chiesi Foundation

The strategic goals

The Foundation helps shape global and local health agendas in maternal, newborn, and respiratory care, leveraging organizational resilience, resource sustainability, and strategic communications to maximize impact.

The Foundation is increasingly taking on the role of catalyst of ideas, tools, and resources, and facilitating dialogue and relationships between the various stakeholders and partners involved in the implementation of the two models.

Aware of the ever-increasing role that philanthropic actors play in international cooperation, the Paolo Chiesi Foundation has initiated a process of institutional recognition that has led to accreditation with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the International Cooperation Office of the Emilia-Romagna Region.

At the same time, coordination and collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) has intensified, particularly regarding the implementation of the NEST Model and the definition of strategic partnerships with several internationally recognized players.

The NEST and GASP models are implemented as quality care approaches, designed to address the real needs of patients, particularly neonates and people with chronic respiratory diseases, through locally driven and patient-centered solutions.

Both models are designed to integrate and support the ministerial guidelines of the countries in which the Paolo Chiesi Foundation operates.

The involvement of institutional stakeholders at multiple levels is the foundation of the work we, as a Foundation, are carrying out in various countries. This approach allows us to see our work recognized, but above all, it gives sustainability to the initiatives funded by the Paolo Chiesi Foundation.

Ensure that all Foundation programs achieve greater effectiveness and measurable impact through the systematic use of data-driven quality improvement methods.

This allows for a better understanding of errors and gaps and for the implementation of corrective and preventive actions to trigger a quality improvement process. Furthermore, it aims to generate evidence regarding effective methods and tools to increase the availability, quality, and use of data in the neonatal and respiratory fields, thus contributing to improving patient health and generating effective, sustainable, and reproducible models based on scientific evidence.

Objectives, results and transparency

Objectives, results and transparency