Bayer HealthCare to support Argentinean Chagas disease campaign

Bayer HealthCare is allying with Caritas Argentina for a new project to combat the spread of Chagas disease in rural parts of the South American country.

The collaboration will run for four years and will see the organisations working together to educate people about Chagas disease, improve early diagnosis rates and make the population more aware of how best to protect themselves.

Donations totalling 665,000 euros (560,800 pounds) will be provided by the Bayer Foundation to fund the implementation of the project, while Caritas and Bayer staff will visit schools in rural areas to offer comprehensive and age-appropriate education.

Chagas is an infectious disease that affects approximately ten million people and can be fatal if left untreated, but which can be cured if it is caught early enough.

Professor Dr Wolfgang Plischke, chief executive officer of Bayer HealthCare, said: "We want to sustainably improve people's health and quality of life. This is a task that no aid organisation, government, company or research institute can manage alone."

This comes in the same month that Bayer HealthCare was once again included in the 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index thanks to its economic, ecological and social performance.