The Novartis Foundation (formerly known as the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development) is a non-profit organization and part of the corporate responsibility portfolio of Novartis in Basel, Switzerland. The foundation conducts projects to improve health, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and in south-east Asia.
History
The Novartis Foundation has been one of the leading organizations in the private sector for international development for the last 35 years. The humanitarian engagement of the Novartis Foundation goes back to the 1960s, when the Basel-based companies Ciba, Geigy, Sandoz, Durand & Huguenin, Hoffmann-La Roche and Lonza founded the Basel Foundation for Developing Countries. The Basel Foundation, for example, supported the field laboratory of the Swiss Tropical Institute (now known as the Ifakara Health Institute) located in Ifakara, which still works closely with the Novartis Foundation.
Today, the Novartis Foundation focuses its work on the fight against leprosy and malaria, as well as on access to healthcare projects. The foundation acts as facilitator between the private sector, the