The Baxter International Foundation Awards Grants in Six Countries to Improve Access to Healthcare

Published 05-26-05

Submitted by Baxter International Inc.

DEERFIELD, IL - The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), today announced its first-quarter grant awards, totaling more than $1.3 million. In April, the foundation awarded grants to 20 organizations in six countries to support initiatives that improve global access to quality and cost-effective healthcare. Nine of the 20 first-quarter awards focus on improving access to healthcare for women and children in disadvantaged and underserved communities throughout the world where Baxter employees live and work.

"There are women and children throughout the world without access to the healthcare and support services they desperately need," said Jim Utts, president, The Baxter International Foundation. "The organizations funded through the foundation's first-quarter grants are committed to providing this population with services that will make an immediate and sustainable impact on these communities."

For example, during the first quarter, the foundation partnered with The Instituto Mexicano de Investigacion de Familia y Poblacion (IMIFAP) to improve the health of low-income women in Monterrey, Mexico. Since its founding in 1985, IMIFAP has become a leader in health prevention and reproductive health education for women and youth throughout Latin America. The $44,669 grant will allow IMIFAP to expand

services in Monterrey to include intensive workshops on breast and cervical cancer prevention, reproductive health and family planning, and personal hygiene. IMIFAP plans to bring similar health improvement workshops to seven additional states in Mexico.
The foundation also partnered with Project Concern International, a non-governmental, nonprofit organization that has promoted community health and integrated development throughout the world for more than 43 years. The $107,684 grant will support the deployment of two mobile health vans in the Nagapattinam District in India to improve access to healthcare for tsunami survivors. The mobile health vans will be integrated into the organization's broader strategy to transition its tsunami aid activities from emergency disaster relief to long-term recovery, including the improvement of the health status of families, especially women and children, in some of the hardest-hit villages in the district. Additional information about Baxter-sponsored relief efforts following the tsunami devastation in Asia can be found on the company's website at www.baxter.com/relief.

Additional organizations that received grants in the first quarter of 2005 include:

The Association of Therapeutical Education and Rehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy, to expand support services in occupational, physical and speech therapy and psychology to an increased number of children with cerebral palsy in regular school settings in Paris, France.

Building Futures with Women & Children, to support the salary of a Children's Advocate to promote the improved health and well-being of children in shelters and second-stage affordable housing in San Leandro, Calif., by assisting the children and their mothers in accessing local health services.

Fundacion Prodis, to support the salaries of additional health professionals to work with an increased number of mentally challenged youth at a special summer camp program in Spain.

Hillsides, a nonprofit mental health treatment agency, to support the salary of a bilingual therapist to expand services offered at the School-Based Mental Health Program, which works in partnership with the Los Angeles and Pasadena Unified School Districts to provide in-school behavioral support, counseling services and case management to at-risk students and their families.

Lake County Council Against Sexual Assault, to support the expansion of its Allied Healthcare Response to Sexual Violence Program in Lake County, Ill.

A full listing of The Baxter International Foundation grants awarded in the first quarter of 2005 can be found at www.baxter.com/grants.

The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc., helps organizations expand access to healthcare in the United States and around the world. The foundation, established in 1981, began to focus exclusively on increasing access to care in 2002 - particularly for the disadvantaged and underserved in and near communities where Baxter employees live and work.

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with the treatment of complex medical conditions, including cancer, hemophilia, immune disorders, kidney disease and trauma. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives. For more information, please visit www.baxter.com.

Baxter International Inc.

At Baxter, sustainability means creating lasting social, environmental and economic value by addressing the needs of the company’s wide-ranging stakeholder base. The company's sustainability efforts support Baxter's mission to apply innovative science in the development of products and therapies that save and sustain patients' lives.

The Baxter International Foundation Awards Grants in Six Countries to Improve Access to Healthcare

The Baxter International Foundation Awards Grants in Six Countries to Improve Access to Healthcare

Baxter International Inc.

Baxter International Inc.

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