Our efforts are focused on the central themes of healthcare and education, and they are enabled by organizations such as the GE Foundation and volunteer groups, which partner GE employees with local community initiatives.
Through our ongoing commitment to philanthropy, GE can help meet big needs around the world and act as a good citizen by making sure that our contribution extends far beyond the bottom line.
The Developing Health Globally Initiative
Product and service donations are another way GE gets involved in building stronger and more sustainable communities. The Developing Health Globally initiative (which encompasses the Africa Project) began in 2004 with a $20-million product donation investment in rural African communities and has since expanded to a 5-year, $30 million commitment. It is designed to improve healthcare delivery in rural African and Latin American communities and ultimately other regions of the world. The program draws on GE products, expertise and employee engagement to provide a sustainable, enterprise solution approach to gaps that exist in rural healthcare facilities today.
In Africa, GE deploys solutions including products from our Energy, Water, Healthcare and Consumer & Industrial businesses to rural African communities to improve access to reliable power, clean water, up-to-date healthcare equipment and communication technologies.
Essential to the success of this initiative is our working partnerships with local community leaders. While we manage all projects from start to finish, it is also our priority to involve community members in many parts of the development process to strengthen local sense of ownership. This can mean assisting in construction efforts, training in equipment operation and maintenance, and learning to implement GE operational processes to track community health progress. Our ongoing communication with community leaders ensures that GE solutions are well implemented and sustained over the long term.
To date, the Developing Health Globally initiative has resulted in 12 upgraded hospitals in Ghana and 13 newly initiated projects in countries including Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda and Senegal. In 2006, we announced an expansion of the Africa Project through a cooperative partnership with Jeffrey Sachs and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, called "GE Millennium District Hospitals." Through this expansion, GE will complete upgrade work in more than 30 hospitals and clinics across Africa, and in the process, continue to put our resources and professional skills to work helping some of the world's poorest communities help themselves.
GE in Africa
The GE Developing Health Globally initiative is helping to make sustainable healthcare a reality in rural African communities.
DEVELOPING FUTURES PROGRAM: US
Erie City Schools Awarded GE Grant
The GE Foundation has awarded a $15 million grant to the School District of the City of Erie to improve academic achievement and increase the college readiness of students in the area.