Philips Foundation

Ready to put your Master’s into practice where capital can help expand access to quality healthcare? Philips Foundation is looking for an Impact Investing Intern for six months. You’ll work with mission-driven ventures developing scalable solutions for underserved communities. You must be enrolled in a Master’s program at a university throughout the internship, and situated near Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e-HG4aFv

Access to healthcare is often discussed as a global challenge. And it is. But these challenges almost always look different locally. In Eindhoven, the Abdelhak Nouri Foundation, Hartstichting and Philips Foundation came together to place a new AED in neighborhood De Uitwijk. The partnership is rooted in a simple idea: cardiac arrest can affect anyone, young or old, and communities need access to lifesaving support when it matters. And it does. Eindhoven’s municipality has mapped local health differences across the city, using data on factors such as income, stress, loneliness, air quality, green space and access to basic services. That mapping shows that in some neighborhoods, people live on average six years shorter. Access to healthcare starts close to home. Sometimes, it starts on a wall in the neighborhood, with an AED that is there when minutes or seconds matter. The Eindhoven AED is the 10th AED placed in the Netherlands, as part of a wider effort to bring lifesaving support closer to community spaces, often near football clubs and local places where people come together. Read more in this article, available in Dutch: https://lnkd.in/etY5_sxN

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭. 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭. That's why we're keen to announce a partnership with the Novartis Foundation to expand their CARDIO4Cities approach: a data-driven model designed to improve cardiovascular health and reduce inequities in urban communities, starting with Amsterdam. Here's what makes this collaboration work: 📊 Data meets innovation: Strong data insights combined with technology that improves early detection. Together, systems strengthen. 🏙️ Real neighborhoods, real outcomes: In Amsterdam, life expectancy differs by up to 10 years between neighborhoods. That's preventable. 🤝 Partnership as the foundation: No single organization solves health system gaps alone. Complementary strengths create pathways from insight to impact. Learn more about how we're working together to scale what works: https://lnkd.in/e5F6NE8Y

Global health innovators wanted: Social Impact Award for 2026 now open! Win $100,000 to bring your idea to life: Philips Foundation is continuing its Social Impact Award with none other than MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), calling on innovators globally to scale solutions that expand access to healthcare for underserved communities. The award focuses on two areas with urgent and persistent gaps in access to healthcare: maternal and child health, and cardiovascular disease, where innovation can deliver measurable impact. Applications are open and handled via MIT Solve until May 21. 🗳️ Learn more and apply now: https://lnkd.in/e5feg9KX ✨ Want to feel inspired? 🎥 Watch the finale of the award last year: https://lnkd.in/e8vrxq_p

We are taking an important step forward in the city of Amsterdam. ❌❌❌ This week, Philips Foundation and Novartis Foundation have signed a letter of intent with Amsterdam Vitaal & Gezond to launch CARDIO4CITIES, an initiative to strengthen cardiovascular health in Amsterdam's underserved communities. When we say cardiovascular health, we refer to a group of interconnected conditions. Think of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. They're closely linked and often build up over time. And it’s a growing challenge. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death globally, responsible for nearly 20 million deaths each year, and the number of people affected has more than doubled over the past decades (World Heart Report, 2023). At the same time, more than half of the world’s population now lives in cities. But access to care is not equal. Over 4.5 billion people still lack access to essential health services (WHO, 2025), and underserved communities in urban settings are often the most affected. Cities matter. They shape how people live, move, eat, and access healthcare. Environmental and social factors can increase risk, especially for heart-related conditions. This is why local partnerships such as these matter. By working together, we can better connect community, primary, and specialist care levels, and make healthcare work earlier and more effectively for people. Proud to take this step in Amsterdam, the city Philips Foundation is stationed. If you're a city dweller yourself, stay tuned! This matters for urban populations everywhere.

The chain of maternal care starts before pregnancy. It starts with the first signals a woman learns to recognize. Today, we're highlighting 28X Ltd, a venture we invest in, and their app launch. What drew us to 28X wasn't just the technology. It was their commitment to building it for the women left behind by innovation. As CEO Amber Vodegel puts it: "Innovation was increasingly reaching a very specific kind of woman – one who can afford a subscription or a supplement stack. That is a very small slice of the world. I wanted to build something for the other 80%." Maternal health starts with the basics: understanding your body, tracking patterns, and recognizing warning signs early. In many underserved communities, women don't have access to tools that let them do this. The gap sits far upstream, but its impact shows downstream, in maternal and child outcomes. When we invest in ventures like 28X, we're strengthening a critical early link in the chain of care. Female-led. Designed for access. Built with intention with privacy top of mind. Congratulations to the team at 28X on the app launch! 🦋 Soon in over 30 languages, including minority languages that are not commercially viable for most apps. But more importantly: designed so that women with varying literacy levels can understand and act on the information. That's meaningful innovation. We're excited to what's ahead! 🔗 Read more in this article from Femtech Insider, by Kathrin Folkendt: https://lnkd.in/eQiFEbAd 🌱 Our portfolio of impact investments: https://lnkd.in/dbv6Kmgf

"When needs are this vast, fragmentation doesn't help. Focus increases the likelihood that solutions become embedded within everyday healthcare delivery." We sat down with Bahaa Eddine Sarroukh, Head of the Philips Foundation, to discuss why we're sharpening our focus on cardiovascular disease and maternal and child health, and what it takes to build healthcare systems that last. In this conversation, Eddine shares with us: 🎯 Why strategic focus matters when 4.5 billion people lack essential health services ♻️ How operating across a continuum of capital, from grants to impact investments, creates sustainable change 👩🏽⚕️ Some real examples: from Kenya ultrasound pilots to ImpactBridge, our co-investment platform Our approach is clear: Prove what works. Scale what works. Share what works. Read or watch the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eAKwjFsB

Bert van Meurs has been appointed to the Philips Foundation Board, effective January 1, 2026, further strengthening the Foundation’s leadership as it advances its mission to enable access to quality healthcare for underserved communities. Reflecting on his appointment, Bert said: “I am honored to join the Board of the Philips Foundation. I strongly believe in the power of innovation and collaboration to improve healthcare access, especially for communities that are hardest to reach. I look forward to contributing my experience to help scale sustainable models of care that can make a real difference in people’s lives.” Read the announcement here: https://lnkd.in/e3B-cdsg

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡 Universal health coverage sounds reassuringly complete, as if the job were mostly done once the words are agreed on. In practice, it’s messier. Coverage is uneven globally, geography still matters, and entire communities fall through the cracks. Bangladesh is a good example. Progress has been real, but river islands shift, roads disappear, and access to care can depend as much on the weather as on policy. Universal coverage, in that sense, is less a destination than a constant effort to keep extending the map. In Bangladesh, millions of people live on these remote riverine islands, known locally as 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴. They have faced persistent barriers to basic health services due to the shifting geography, unpredictable floods, and limited infrastructure. Some of that reality is changing through a partnership between Philips Foundation and BRAC, grounded in community knowledge and innovative healthcare delivery. More work is to be done. 🗞️ Read more: https://lnkd.in/ePpg9Ryi #UHCDay #HealthForAll 📸 Made by © Sadiqure Rahman Himu

𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. An article published this week by Danish media captures something simple but powerful: real people receiving real care. It’s a reminder of why foundations need to keep pushing for new ways to reach communities that have long been underserved. 📰 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eH2fxd3D That is also what sits behind the new step Philips Foundation has taken together with We Share Forward Foundation and the World Diabetes Foundation. Through 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞, we are now working much more closely, and co-investing, to support social ventures tackling some of the toughest health challenges in the Global South. The need is growing fast. Non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular and related conditions, are rising across low- and middle-income countries. Yet many early-stage social ventures working on these issues face a gap in funding once they move beyond pilots but aren’t ready for commercial capital. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 aims to fill that gap. By combining expertise, resources, and experience, the partnership helps these ventures strengthen primary care, improve early detection, and build models that can reach more people over time. 📸 ImpactBridge’s first investment is in Last Mile Care, a company that sets up health clinics at workplaces across India.