Discovery Education and Takeda Partner on Health Equity Initiative

Educators and students can use these no-cost digital resources to foster a health equity mindset.

FREMONT, CA: STEM Education is essential because the future of our planet depends on it. The economy depends on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM education emphasizes teaching skills and subjects in a manner that resembles the real world. Through STEM education, students learn facts and a way of thinking that can be applied to solving real-world problems. Takeda, a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, and Discovery Education, the worldwide leader of edtech, have partnered to transform health equity education. The education initiative "Better Health in Action: From Classroom to Community" is designed to enable the next generation of health equity leaders to learn about the urgent, pervasive problem of health inequity and become agents of change.

“As a more than 240-year-old company, we've always asked ourselves, what more can we do for patients? As the head of Takedas Center for Health Equity and Patient Affairs, an obstetrician-gynecologist for over 20 years, and an assistant adjunct professor, I know there is much more to be done before we can achieve health equity where everyone, everywhere, has the opportunity and resources to reach their full health potential,” says Charlotte Owens, M.D., Vice President and Head of the Takeda Center for Health Equity and Patient Affairs. “Equity starts with understanding, and that's why were committed to partnering with Discovery Education to help students understand the principles of health equity and identify health inequities in their own communities. We also have a responsibility to create the world we want for generations to come. Discovery Education is our ideal partner to inspire this next generation, providing students with educational solutions to become health equity champions.”

Better Health in Action provides students, educators, and families in grades 6-8 with a suite of free, interactive digital resources designed to engage students in the critical topics of health equity globally and their connections to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The standards-aligned Better Health in Actions resources is designed for use wherever learning occurs and provide students with tools for investigating health equity, comprehending health literacy, and addressing health inequities in their communities.

Through videos, self-paced learning modules, and family discussion guides soon available in nine languages, this initiative analyzes community inequalities and addresses how each individual can contribute to addressing them by promoting better health and education. In addition, the Better Health in Action website, which will be accessible worldwide, takes students inside the lives of a diverse portfolio of professionals whose career paths are centered on STEM and health, allowing students to envision their future and potential in the pursuit of health equity.

Students can advance their education through activities that teach STEM skills and foster leadership. Better Health in Action provides educators and students with various interactive career profiles and student activities. The career profiles feature the following Takeda executives:

Vice President and Director of the Center for Health Equity and Patient Affairs, Charlotte Owens, M.D.

Kimberly Aguilar, a Manufacturing Scientist with a Bachelor of Science; and

Associate Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences Craig Kaftan, M.Sc.

"Health is a building block for success in life. In partnership with Takeda and our first program focused closely on health equity, we are helping to show students the power of health and how equity sits at the center. With comprehensive health-focused resources highlighting STEM skills through engaging activities and inspiring career opportunities, Better Health in Action empowers the students of today to effect positive change lifelong,” says Amy Nakamoto, General Manager of Social Impact at Discovery Education.