PharmaBox recognized by U.S. magazine Fast Company as a World Changing Idea

A prestigious award for a humanitarian and solidarity-driven innovation

The CMA CGM Foundation and Action Against Hunger are proud that PharmaBox has been recognized at the 2026 World Changing Ideas Awards, presented by Fast Company, the leading U.S. magazine dedicated to innovation, leadership, and economic and societal transformation. This international recognition highlights an innovation designed to ensure access to essential medicines in areas affected by humanitarian crises.

Each year, the World Changing Ideas Awards celebrate the most innovative and promising initiatives addressing major global challenges. The selected projects are recognized for their impact, innovative approach, and ability to be scaled and deployed worldwide.

Quote from Tanya Saadé Zeenny, President of the CMA CGM Foundation: “This recognition encourages us to continue pursuing the ambition of the CMA CGM Foundation: leveraging the resources and expertise of the CMA CGM Group to support solutions capable of addressing the major humanitarian challenges of our time.”

An innovation born from field needs

PharmaBox was created in response to a shared observation: in many humanitarian settings, the lack of reliable infrastructure compromises the storage of medicines and limits access to treatments for the most vulnerable populations. 
Fully autonomous thanks to solar energy, easily transportable and rapidly deployable, PharmaBox ensures a secure cold chain, even in the most remote regions or areas without reliable access to electricity. 
This approach makes PharmaBox a unique humanitarian innovation, combining logistics, engineering and medical expertise to serve the world’s most vulnerable communities.

A tangible impact for the most vulnerable children

Severe malnutrition requires treatments that rely on medicines and nutritional products that must be stored under strict temperature conditions. 
A single PharmaBox can support the treatment of up to 50,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition, as well as pregnant women, every year, by ensuring the availability and quality of treatments as close as possible to where they are needed.
Beyond the fight against malnutrition, PharmaBox also contributes to strengthening local healthcare systems by improving access to essential pharmaceutical products.

Accelerating deployment in the field

Four PharmaBox are now deployed with Action Against Hunger in the Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan and Madagascar. 
Two additional units are currently being shipped to Burkina Faso and Nigeria, while two more will soon be deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A PharmaBox has also been deployed in Lebanon with the NGO Caritas to address the needs of displaced populations. 
The CMA CGM Foundation is also working on the development of two new PharmaBox projects with the NGO Médecins du Monde.