Walgreens Boots Alliance Long-term Commitment to Supporting People With Cancer Around the World, Every Step of the Journey

“Getting that call, it’s like my world stopped. It’s not something you’re ever ready for. The feeling was just so lonely and scary,” said Yana Nirshberg, a cancer survivor, entrepreneur and mother, of the call from her doctor delivering the news that she had breast cancer. 

Last year alone, 17 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed worldwide. For the past 20 years, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and its businesses, which include Boots UK, Boots Ireland, Alliance Healthcare and Walgreens, has sought to provide innovative and meaningful support people with cancer.   

WBA has developed partnerships with leading cancer organizations from around the world: MacMacmillan Cancer Support in the United Kingdom; the Irish Cancer Society in Ireland; and Susan G. Komen and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in the United States. Through these partnerships, WBA provides specialized training for its healthcare providers, so they can support cancer patient needs related to medication and side effects from cancer and cancer treatment. 

“Our purpose is to help people live healthier and happier lives around the world,” said Ornella Barra, WBA co-chief operating officer and the chairman of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. “Our community pharmacists and other healthcare providers deliver trusted information, expertise and compassionate care for individuals with cancer.” 

The company’s efforts align with two United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals: UN SDG #3, which focuses on reducing the impact of non-communicable diseases and ensuring accessible and affordable care for all; and UN SDG #17, which focuses on partnerships to drive sustainable change. 

“The SDGs represent an aspiration, the way in which everybody would like the world to be. If we’re able to find SDG activities that relate to our business imperatives, then we’ve cracked it,” said Richard Ellis, vice president of Walgreens’ Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. 

To learn more about WBA’s global cancer initiatives, click here