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Industry leaders join forces to ensure urgently-needed vaccines reach Pakistan earthquake victims
February 22, 2006
Baxter International, one of the world’s leading healthcare companies is joining forces with DHL Danzas, Emirates SkyCargo and Envirotainer to deliver five full containers of urgently needed vaccines to victims of the Pakistan earthquake in the latest relief effort co-ordinated by International Health Partners (IHP).
IHP is a charitable organisation dedicated to providing donated medical aid to communities in the developing world. This latest donation will help to complete the inoculation of the nearly 500,000 earthquake victims at risk of contracting meningitis in Kashmir in advance of the coming spring, one of the region’s most prevalent seasons for outbreaks.
DHL Danzas, which provides specialist logistics services to the life sciences industry, has called upon the expertise of partners, Emirates SkyCargo and Envirotainer, to ensure the 280,000 vaccines not only arrive in Pakistan in the shortest possible timescale but also in perfect condition to support the ongoing relief effort in the country. Baxter International, DHL and Envirotainer are giving their services and products free of charge while Emirates SkyCargo has offered a reduced cost for air transportation.
DHL Danzas is responsible for co-ordinating the shipment for IHP and will collect the product from Baxter International in Vienna and arrange transportation to Pakistan. It requested Envirotainer’s help to ensure the vaccines reach the WHO distribution centre in Islamabad ready for use by medical teams. Temperature-controlled trucks operated by the WHO will be used to forward the vaccine shipments to Kashmir.
Key to the success of this project was Envirotainer’s RAP temperature-controlled container that protects highly sensitive pharmaceutical products moving in a cold chain. With the vaccines safely protected in Envirotainer containers, Emirates SkyCargo will fly the shipments from Vienna to Islamabad for immediate despatch to the WHO centre.
Working alongside Pakistan’s Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has sent 600 teams of medical specialists all over the affected region, immunising children against illnesses and diseases such as measles, polio, diphtheria and tetanus. Nearly 60,000 children are vaccinated every day.
Ulf Uby, VP Sales of Envirotainer, said: “When Baxter International, via their logistics provider DHL Danzas, requested our support for this project, we were delighted to offer the use of our RAP containers to ensure the product integrity and efficacy of their valuable donation to the people of Pakistan. We are pleased that our containers will be playing an important part in this relief effort and help to bring some comfort to the people that continue to suffer from the ongoing effects of such a large scale natural disaster.”
These vaccines form part of a programme of aid for Kashmir being organised by International Health Partners on behalf of the medical community, NGOs, Government and the pharmaceutical industry in the UK. IHP has been liaising closely with the joint emergency coordinating team of the World Health Organisation and Pakistan Ministry of Health to develop a programme of donated vaccines, medicines and medical supplies to support the relief effort in Kashmir.
In the four months since the earthquake disaster in October 2005, IHP has coordinated donations from over 30 UK healthcare companies which have provided primary health and emergency treatment for over 300,000 children and adults in the earthquake affected areas. These first-quality, in-date vaccines, medicines and medical supplies have been sent to meet specific requests of healthcare professionals from the international NGOs and local communities. To date IHP has coordinated over 30 tons of requested medical aid to help treat and protect those most affected and vulnerable through these harsh Himalayan winter months. |
