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Home > English > Campaign > Supporting
Campaign Still inappropriate donations taking place Although there have already been Guidelines since 1996 (revised 1999), inappropriate donations are still
taking place. For example:
Mali April
2002: a complaint came in through E-med from the ministry of Health. Several donations, coming from all types of organizations, were not asked for, many were expired or close to expiry, not on the essential drugs
list, not labeled in French, etc. Bolivia June 2002, the Canadian Government granted as a donation 2.050.000 doses of Influenza vaccine, with an estimated cost of USD 13.000.000. Despite the refusal of the
Bolivian Health Authorities, the vaccine "appeared" in Bolivia, just one week before expiration date. The bulk expired without adequate use, because it arrived just some weeks before expiry date. No
quality or safety tests were provided by the donors and influenza is not a prevalent problem in Bolivia.
Monitoring
The Consortium is
of the opinion that in order to make sure donations are appropriate and knowing what is happening in the field, monitoring is necessary. And even the WHO itself shares this opinion:
One of the recommendations that
were made in the report ‘First-year experiences with the Interagency Guidelines for drug donations, written by the WHO (published in 2000), was:
“WHO should establish a system whereby recipients and consolidators can
report examples of inappropriate donations or unacceptable donation practices.” Principles of a monitoring system according to the Consortium
There are so many types of donations,
they come in all shapes and sizes. There are also many types of donors, from large pharmaceutical multinationals to a concerned citizen. It will therefore be difficult to be informed about all of them. In order to reach
most of them, the consortium believes the following aspects should be included:
The target group should not be the
donors; The main source of potential information can be found at the recipient side. They know what they receive and whether or not a donation is appropriate. A general check on as many donations as possible
(not only inappropriate ones) should take place based on a series of criteria, set out on a form. Besides a general check, more ad hoc, in-depth evaluations on some of the donations should take place. It
is necessary to go ad hoc after emergencies and make occasional visits.
How to reach the recipient?
The general check could be done in cooperation with local organizations. They know what is going on in their countries and are closer to where it is happening. There are WHO officers
stationed in many developing countries. It is also possible to use networks like E-med, which covers the whole of French-speaking countries. Besides the WHO doing in-depth evaluations, one could also think of official
inspections by NGO’s already observing in the area, like MSF, Red Cross.
Do you agree monitoring of the Guidelines on drug donations is necessary? Then give your support and your organization will be added to the supporters list ! List of supporters:
Cáritas (Spain)
Cruz Roja Española
CUSAD
Farmacéuticos Mundi
Farmacéuticos sin Fronteras
FUDEN
Medicus Mundi
Médicos sin Fronteras
Médicos del Mundo
Cantro Nacional de Medicina Tropical
Colegio oficial de Farmacéuticos de Zaragoza
Colegio oficial de Farmacéuticos de la región de Murcia
Colegio oficial de Farmacéuticos de Bizkaia
Fundación Farmacia Siglo XXI
Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network
Christian Health Association Malawi (CHAM)
Drug Info Moldova
Pharmaciens sans frontières, comité international
Cordaid
HAI Europe
International Dispensary Association
CIN Kenya
AIS Bolivia
War on Want
HealthNet International
Dutch Red CrossFarmacie Mondiaal
Association Tulipe
Stichting Raja (Raja Foundation)
Churches Health Association of Zambia
World Population Foundation
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