Emergency Cash and Medicine Donations already amount to more than USD 16.9 million
The research-based pharmaceutical industry represented by the IFPMA is providing significant emergency aid following the major earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January. The total value of assistance provided so far by IFPMA member companies*, including both cash and donation of medicines and other medical supplies, already amounts to more than USD 16.9 million. Total industry assistance can be expected to increase further, as many companies have also committed to match employee contributions which are still being collected.
Mr. Haruo Naito, President of the IFPMA and President and CEO of Eisai Co., Ltd. said: “The world has been touched by the suffering of the people of Haiti, and I would like to extend the sincere sympathies of the IFPMA and its members to all the people affected. In helping them, we must be guided by both heart and head, to ensure that they receive the assistance they most need. Our member companies are therefore working with expert NGO partners which specialize in disaster relief and can help to ensure that our aid is coordinated as part of the overall international assistance effort.”
Companies and their related philanthropic foundations which have reported making donations so far include: Abbott, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Crucell, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Merck & Co., Inc., Merck KGaA, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, sanofi-aventis and Takeda.
To ensure that the assistance provided is appropriate and coordinated, companies are using long- established partnerships with a range of expert medical and disaster relief organizations. These include the WHO, UNICEF, PAHO and the Red Cross (via various national Red Cross associations), as well as Aide Action Internationale Pompiers, Aide Médicale Internationale, Americares, Catholic Mission Board, Clinique Degand Dutour, Comité de Secours Internationaux, Corps Mondial de Secours, Direct Relief International, Esperanza International, Hospital Albert Schweitzer, International Medical Assistance, Japan Platform, Jewish Renaissance Foundation, MAP International, Medical Teams International, Operation USA, Partners in Health, Project HOPE, Save the Children, Surgical Implant Generation Network and World Vision.
In an emergency situation such as that in Haiti, the groups which specialize in coordination of company medicine donations are particularly important partners for IFPMA member companies. These are Health Partners International Canada, International Health Partners (UK), Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (USA) and TULIPE (France). Their close working relationship with companies allows them to channel coordinated supplies of urgently needed medicines and medical supplies to Haiti as quickly as possible.
Geneva, 19 January 2010
