In times of disasters and emergencies there is an imperative to respond quickly to ensure lives are saved and protected from disease outbreaks that often follow. GSK partners with humanitarian aid partners, experienced in the distribution of medicines, who follow WHO guidelines for medicines donations, ensuring that medicine donations are appropriate to the needs and of maximum benefit to the recipients. GSK is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s major donors of medical products supporting disaster relief efforts and long-term healthcare programs.

The humanitarian product donation program is a fundamental part of GSK’s community investment activities to help save lives and improve the quality of life of people living in vulnerable situations, whether caused by a sudden unexpected emergency such as a disaster, or as a result of a chronic lack of available medicines for which longer-term, ongoing humanitarian aid is needed and where GSK’s medicines can really make a significant difference.

Humanitarian product donations underpin GSK’s global mission to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

GSK’s approach to medicine donations is unique. GSK works with carefully selected charity partners – Americares, Direct Relief, International Health Partners, and MAP International – who are experts in the distribution of medicines. They are able to select from GSK inventory which means that they have access to long-dated, high-quality products which meet the needs of communities. Their experience of community healthcare ensures that the right medicines reach people in need at the right time and because the products are pre-positioned in the partners’ warehouses, held in storage, they are able to respond swiftly, often within days of a disaster occurring.

The partners also draw upon their stock of medicines in their warehouses to support longer-term healthcare programs in areas where medicines are either unavailable or there are gaps in healthcare provision.

Through MAP International and their Medical Mission program, GSK’s medicines reach a high number of small, remote communities. Each Medical Mission pack, which physicians in the US can apply for to take with them on their overseas medical mission trips, contains antibiotics and other essential medicines donated by GSK.

Since 2012 GSK has been working with partners, including Save the Children, Red Cross and Americares, Direct Relief and UNHCR, to provide cash and product donations, supporting displaced children and families in affected countries.

Working across three country phases: `countries of origin’, `countries of transition’ and `countries of destination’, GSK is taking a strategic, longer term approach to address the needs of refugee communities.

To date GSK has contributed over US$ 5m, supporting the following countries: Columbia, Croatia, Gaza, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Spain, Syria, Serbia, Somalia.

Funding is being used to provide:

• Healthcare in refugee communities, including emergency, mobile units and primary health. This also includes delivering immunisation programmes in humanitarian situations where governments are unable to respond.
• Child protection, especially for unaccompanied children who are the most vulnerable.
• Strengthen capacity for response at the country level to prioritise and implement programmes with key partners.
• Cash and product donations.

In addition, in times of emergencies, GSK also make grants (cash donations) in response to funding appeals received from major aid agencies such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies or Save the Children. The funds can be quickly put to use in disaster situations to mobilise essential emergency supplies in the immediate short-term, supporting local government or other emergency response activities.

GSK’s contribution to humanitarian relief goes beyond these medicine and cash donations to our partners. GSK volunteers regularly play their part in assisting partners, offering their expertise on 3-6 month secondment ‘PULSE’ placements –  helping to improve the delivery of healthcare and access to medicines in the countries where the partners operate. And, in times of disasters, increasing numbers of GSK employees offer their medical expertise to assist in the delivery of local medicine donations and gifts-in-kind, as well as to raise funds which help to speed up and augment local recovery efforts.