IFPMA companies respond to recent natural disasters
This article was originally published in Scrip
Almost $3.3 million worth of emergency funding and medicines have been donated by member companies of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), to assist in the recovery from recent natural disasters across Asia and the Pacific.
12 international pharma companies, including Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co, Novartis, Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis, have donated cash and/or medicines for disaster relief, following the typhoons in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia; the tsunami in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga; and the earthquake in western Indonesian country Sumatra, all of which struck at the end of September and beginning of October.
More than $1.1 million – over a third – of the donations have been provided in cash. The rest have been delivered as targeted donations of medicines, vaccines and medical supplies.
IFPMA said member companies were able to provide emergency aid quickly due their "relationships with highly experienced and professional aid groups". Donating companies are working with partner organisations such as the American Red Cross, Direct Relief International and Save the Children, and many are also working with local NGOs in affected regions, including those in Vietnam (the Kim Long Charity Clinic), the Philippines (Gawad Kalinga, GMA Kapuso Foundation) and Sumatra (Muhammadiyah).