Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company, partnered with FSG in spring 2019 in developing its U.S. corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. We didn’t go into this exercise assuming we would center the work on health equity. Our goal was to explore how Sanofi could change the care experiences of those least served by the health system, across different disease areas. The process was informed by external research, lots of listening, and identifying gaps. The more we looked into it, of course, it became obvious to us that if we wanted to serve those most affected by health disparities, it would be by promoting health equity.

Systemic inequities, evidenced by disparities in health outcomes by race, ethnicity, and gender have been around long before COVID-19. Our first task was to identify which issue, among the many that affected health equity, Sanofi wanted to take on. Looking at the data on health disparities and speaking with practitioners led us to the topic of health system navigation. “Our health care system is so complex,” said one such expert, “that even doctors often have a difficult time navigating it.”

In one powerful moment during our engagement, Sanofi team members each read quotes from people who the health care system was failing—single mothers trying to get care for their children, African Americans whose complaints about pain were not heeded, and lower-income individuals trying to understand what coverage was available to them. The session helped us confirm the focus on health navigation.

Read the full article about health equity by Diana Blankman and Adeeb Z. Mahmud at FSG.