Unimed and International Health Partners join forces
The partnership will improve access to medical supplies in low-income countries
Procurement services organisation Unimed will work alongside International Health Partners (IHP) to supply life-saving medical supplies to countries in need.
It involves several shipments of a variety of products donated by Unimed, a contribution worth $69,000.
IHP has a relationship with a network of global healthcare industry donors and will coordinate the placement and safe transport of products to their in-country NGO partners. The company bridges the gap between healthcare companies and humanitarian agencies.
International Health Partners CEO Adele Paterson said: “Our aim is to respond rapidly to humanitarian disasters, support long‐term healthcare development projects in disaster-hit and vulnerable communities, and equip doctors with supplies for short‐term overseas medical missions
“Unimed’s generous donation has given us access to a large number of valuable supplies, enabling us to support more vulnerable communities. We are delighted to be able to work with an organisation whose values closely align with ours, and we look forward to working together to increase access to healthcare and reduce suffering globally.”
Shameet Thakkar, Founder and Managing Director of Unimed, said: “Having seen what IHP has achieved, we feel compelled to do more. We are now pledging to over‐manufacture products with the intent to give the excess stock to IHP, enabling them to use these resources to help more individuals and communities in need of humanitarian aid.”
Lebanon’s lifeline
The initial pilot shipment to Lebanon will be handled by IHP’s NGO partner Anera, to help address the unmet medical needs in the region. The organisation works with partners in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan, mobilising resources to assist vulnerable communities.
The products in the shipment include bag valve masks, syringes, pulse oximeters, blood collection tubes and mechanical pipettes – vital in providing doctors and nurses with the equipment they need to take care of the local population in Lebanon and support its healthcare system.
International donors are essential for sustaining Lebanon’s struggling healthcare system, which due to the current socio‐economic crisis, has come to largely rely on medical donations. Lebanon is still feeling the effects of the explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020, while simultaneously battling the spread of Covid‐19.
“With the unprecedented deterioration of the Lebanon health sector, and over half of the population living in poverty, our partnership with IHP and donors like Unimed contributes to alleviating the burden on hospitals and patients,” commented Lina Atat, Anera’s Medical Donations Program Manager in Lebanon.