Employee Health Screening Drives Donations to PATH for Childhood Vaccinations in Laos

By Karen Bergin, director, Citizenship and Public Affairs

Microsoft’s “Know Your Numbers” health screening is a quick way for employees to take charge of their health. It’s a routine process – blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other biometric testing.

Last fall's Know Your Numbers campaign was also an example of Microsoft's deep-rooted culture of giving.

For every employee who participated, the company donated funds to enable PATH, a global health nonprofit organization, to deliver vaccinations to those in need. More than 25,000 employees booked an appointment, so Microsoft is helping to ensure that thousands of children in Southeast Asia receive a lifesaving vaccine against a devastating illness.

PATH delivered the first of those vaccinations last month to rural communities in Laos at risk of Japanese encephalitis. The timing of Microsoft's donation was perfect, said Monica Graham, a communications officer with PATH's Vaccine Access and Delivery program.

"If we didn't receive the funds from Microsoft, communities in Laos and Cambodia would have had to wait at least a year," she said. "It made a tremendous impact as we were able to launch campaigns and vaccinate 170,000 children in Laos alone rather than wait for funding."

To read the story of the children who received life-saving vaccinations this year, visit PATH’s blog.

Photo: PATH/Aaron Joel Santos