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Humanitarian relief

GSK donates essential products, such as antibiotics, to help humanitarian relief efforts in disaster zones and to support basic healthcare provision for impoverished communities.

Donations are made at the request of governments and major charitable organisations and may be manufactured specifically for these partners.

GSK works in partnership with relief charities that have experience in delivering humanitarian aid, including AmeriCares, Direct Relief, InterChurch Medical Assistance, MAP International and Project HOPE.

Activity during 2004
During 2004 we donated life-saving medicines to support relief efforts in over 100 countries. Immediate supplies of antibiotics and basic medicines were sent in response to the devastating tsunami in South East Asia, severe flooding in Bangladesh, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and the hurricanes which affected Central America, the Caribbean and the US.

We donated more than 3.6 million doses of antibiotics and 600,000 vials of vaccines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in countries affected by the tsunami. We have also committed £2 million ($3.7 million) to support organisations working on relief operations in the disaster area.

The total value of our humanitarian product donations in 2004 was £50 million ($92 million), based on wholesale acquisition cost. The amount supplied each year varies according to demand.

GSK is a member of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD), an alliance of pharmaceutical companies and humanitarian agencies that works to encourage the donation and timely delivery of appropriate medicines to people in need. GSK follows the WHO guidelines for product donations.

In 2005 we will continue our product donation programme for humanitarian relief though the amount of product made available varies each year in response to both variable demand and availability of product.

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