February 2023
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Note from Elizabeth (EJ) Ashbourne, PQMD Executive Director

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is ready for all the exciting new things we can accomplish in 2023.

As you will read in our End of Year Report, PQMD had an extremely successful and productive 2022! PQMD members collaborated to provide life-saving medicines and equipment; community health programs and training; and skilled medical volunteers and donations to improve and promote sustainable access to quality health care in underserved communities and populations in crisis around the globe. Our report includes highlights, PQMD meetings and events, products and programs, communications and outreach and some thoughts about what we can look forward to in 2023. You can read the report in its entirety on the PQMD website.

The state of this year has been very busy. We are so happy to welcome two new members: Astellas and Good360! They each bring unique perspectives and experience to an already robust and diverse PQMD membership. Please welcome them when you see them on Pillar Talks or at meetings! 

I’m also excited to announce our new Executive Board for 2023-2024! The new Board, chaired by Chris Skopec from Project Hope and Vice-Chair Kimberlin Keller from Johnson & Johnson, will lead PQMD during a very busy and forward-thinking time for PQMD. I look forward to closely working with the new team to accomplish the goals outlined in our strategic plan

And, we are full steam ahead on the Global Health Policy Forum coming this April in Paris. You should have received more information about the meeting, including logistics such as hotel and important dates. We recommend that you start making your plans as soon as possible. The meeting will be an amazing opportunity for us to meet and network and also discuss the European Health Strategy and other important global issues affecting PQMD members in Europe.

I wish everyone a happy and safe new year and I’m looking forward to all the work ahead!

PQMD Announces New Executive Board

PQMD is excited to announce our new Executive Committee serving as PQMD's leaders for the next two year. The Executive Committee will be chaired by Chris Skopec from Project Hope and Kimberlin Keller from Johnson & Johnson (Vice-chair). This team will bring a breadth of expertise and skills to help lead important programming and projects for PQMD for the next couple years. View PQMD's leadership on the website

PQMD Releases 2022 Year in Review

In 2022, the world faced unprecedented levels of conflict and crisis leaving over 300 million people in need of humanitarian aid. PQMD’s corporate and non-profit members were on the frontlines, simultaneously responding to multiple crises around the world. PQMD members collaborated to provide life-saving medicines and equipment; community health programs and training; and skilled medical volunteers and donations to improve and promote sustainable access to quality health care in underserved communities and populations in crisis around the globe.

PQMD offered a suite of educational programs, collaborative opportunities, and a platform to coordinate members’ work, all while shining a light on the phenomenal work our members offer to those affected and impacted by crises.

Read the full report on PQMD's website here.


PQMD Welcomes Two New Members

PQMD is excited to announce the addition of two new members: Astellas Pharma Inc. and Good360. With the addition of these members, PQMD now has a total of 50 members! 

Good360 helps companies resolve the business challenge of responsibly distributing excess goods for maximum impact and in doing so, help nonprofit partners deliver on their own important missions. Individuals facing challenging life circumstances get the goods they need, generating hope, and products are given a new life, reducing waste and helping build resilient communities for the future. Learn more on their website. 

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. They are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, Astellas also looks beyond the foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine their expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit Astellas Home page | Astellas Pharma Inc. and Astellas Pharma US | Changing Tomorrow | Home

GARDaccess Initiative- GARDaccess Guidelines now available on PQMD website

The GARDaccess Initiative's Guidelines for Rare Diseases is now available on the PQMD website

This resource provides essential guidelines for those working with patients who have rare diseases. It addresses potential challenges by identifying best practice guidance to ensure that every patient living with a rare disorder has equitable access to quality healthcare.

The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD) and Global Alliance for Rare Disease (GARDaccess) initiative designed these seven guidelines which outline general principles to help create partnership and alliances for persons living with rare diseases and their families.

If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact Harpreet Ram.

PQMD Global Health Policy Forum Update

PQMD is looking forward to seeing everyone this April in Paris, France for our first in-person Global Health Policy Forum since 2019!

One of the topics we will discuss is the recently adopted European Health Strategy. The Strategy aligns with PQMD through its focus on health system strengthening and access to health and well-being. The Strategy is designed to guide EU action to be better prepared in the future for health threats, disaster response and global crisis management. 

Learn more about the European Health Strategy in this press release.

For all the updated information about the Global Health Policy Forum, visit PQMD's website.

Stay Informed!

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn or one of our other social channels to get the latest, most up-to-date information on our Pillar Talks, courses, events, and resources. 


Join us for our next Pillar Talk Webinar:
Medical Donations Technology Showcase

February 21, 2023 | 11am-12:30pm ET 

PQMD’s February Pillar Talk, will be hosted by the Knowledge & Innovation Committee. We have lined up a special Technology Showcase to highlight systems, innovations and solutions that increase efficacy and fuel impact of medical product donations. Topics will include pharmacovigilance, product placement timelines, seamless interface between donation stakeholders, and last mile solutions. Speakers will be from International Health Partners, International Medical Corps, The Max Foundation and Standard Co. Please join us to experience brief product overviews and dive into important dialogue with leaders from these organizations related to their strategic investment in real-time technology and network solutions.

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Colleen Harrisson-Dodds, Director of Logistics & Systems, International Health Partners
  • David Alarcon, Vice President Corporate Finance, International Medical Corps
  • TJ Muehleman, Founder and CEO, Standard Co.
  • Michael Wrigglesworth, Sr. Director of Programs Strategy and Data Solutions, The Max Foundation
  • Moderator: Jason Chernock, Director of Programs & Partnerships, MedShare
Register Now


PQMD holds Coffee Chat -
Ukraine: Where are we now? And where are we heading?  
 

On January 17th, PQMD held an engaging Coffee Chat where members discussed the current situation in Ukraine.

Chris Palusky, World Vision’s Multi-Country Response Director for the Ukraine Crisis Response, and Chris Skopec, Project Hope’s Executive Vice President of Global Health and PQMD Chair, shared their field experience and leadership perspectives to guide a discussion on the evolution and trajectory of this globally felt crisis. Discussion topics included why the response to Ukraine has been so different, what hasn't worked and how do we fix it, experiences with past and current donations (product and cash), what it looks like on the ground today, and insight on what’s next.

PQMD holds Coffee Chats as a member benefit to discuss critical issues and provide an opportunity for discussions and partnerships amongst members. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about PQMD's Coffee Chats, please contact Victoria Hammond.

 

Have an upcoming event?  

PQMD’s online Community of Practice (CoP) maintains a curated Calendar of Events for key events in global health and development.  If your organization has an upcoming event and wants to spread the word to a targeted disaster and humanitarian aid audience, you can post directly on the CoP or forward the information to smacdonald@pqmd.org and PQMD can post on your behalf.  These events are easy to add to your personal calendar with an “add to calendar” feature and you can tell your PQMD network if you are “going” or “can’t go” by clicking the corresponding button. Let PQMD help you spread the word!

Pfizer Expands 'An Accord for a Healthier World' Product Offering to Include Full Portfolio for Greater Benefit to 1.2 Billion People in 45 Lower-Income Countries 

On January 17th, Pfizer announced that it has significantly expanded its commitment to An Accord for a Healthier World to offer the full portfolio of medicines and vaccines for which it has global rights on a not-for-profit basis to enable greater health for 1.2 billion people living in 45 lower-income countries.

The Accord portfolio offering now includes both patented and off-patent medicines and vaccines that treat or prevent many of the greatest infectious and non-communicable disease threats faced today in lower-income countries. This includes chemotherapies and oral cancer treatments that have the potential to treat nearly one million new cancer cases in Accord countries each year. It also includes a wide range of antibiotics, that can help to address the rising morbidity, mortality and costs associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and help to prevent around 1.5 million deaths that occur each year in these countries as a result of bacterial infections in hospitals and community health clinics. As Pfizer launches new medicines and vaccines, those products will also be included in the Accord portfolio on a not-for-profit basis.

To read the full press release, visit Pfizer's website here.

Johnson & Johnson and International Health Partners debut Award Winning Technology to Improve Disaster Relief Efforts

For 15 years, Johnson & Johnson and International Health Partners (IHP) have worked together to facilitate the donation of essential products and medicines into some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, especially during times of crisis. Since the start of the partnership in 2006, over 14 million treatments have been donated by Johnson & Johnson via IHP, impacting more than 12 million people in 70 countries across the globe. The two organizations have partnered to support communities during floods in Pakistan, conflicts in Lebanon and Tunisia, famine in Somalia and Kenya, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, and the Beirut port explosion in 2020.

Building on this longstanding partnership, Johnson & Johnson recently collaborated with IHP to develop POWER (Product Offerings With Excellent Results), a new end-to-end unified global system for product donation and source of truth to track the impact of these donations.

Funded by the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, POWER enhances BOAZ, the successful product donations platform that IHP had already developed, to create an even more streamlined product donations process that can be used by all of Johnson & Johnson’s and IHP’s product donations partners. As the foundation system underpinning POWER, BOAZ recently received a Charity Times Award for Best Use of Technology in recognition of the system’s remarkable potential to transform disaster relief response and the wider product donation field.

Read the full article on Johnson & Johnson's website here.

IsraAid CEO Yotam Polizer wins Charles Bronfman Prize  

Yotam Polizer, the CEO of Israel’s leading humanitarian aid organization, IsraAID, has been named the 2023 recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize. The annual award is presented to a humanitarian whose work, informed by Jewish values, has significantly impacted the world.

Polizer, 39, first joined IsraAID as a volunteer in 2011, leading the organization’s relief mission to Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that left 20,000 people dead. Polizer soon became the organization’s second full-time employee, leading emergency missions to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola crisis, Nepal following the 2015 earthquake, and Greece and Germany during the 2015 Mediterranean Refugee Crisis, before becoming co-CEO in 2017 and Global CEO in 2019. In 2021, he led the complex evacuation of 205 vulnerable refugees from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country.

Under Yotam’s leadership, the organization has more than doubled its budget and grown its global team, expertise, and impact. In 2020, IsraAID launched its first truly global emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since February 2022, IsraAID has been engaged in the organization’s largest humanitarian relief operation to date in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Read the full press release on IsraAid's website here.

Lilly Supports Direct Relief's Efforts to Expand Access to Medicines by Improving Cold Chain Capacity   

Eli Lilly and Company and Direct Relief recently announced a new initiative to expand access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries by boosting cold chain capacity in 17 countries. Supported by $1.15M in funding from Lilly, Direct Relief will purchase and install an estimated 150 medical-grade refrigeration units at 25 Life for a Child facilities in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

Cold chain – the transportation and storage of temperature-controlled medications – is a vital component of medical logistics, especially as the global pharmaceutical industry shifts towards the production of biologics and other temperature-sensitive molecules. The World Health Organization’s Global Diabetes Compact calls on the private sector to do more to support capacity building in supply chain management, including cold storage.

Manufacturing insulin requires constant refrigeration at between two and eight degrees Celsius. Lilly’s support of Direct Relief’s cold chain initiative is part of Lilly 30×30, an effort to improve access and address barriers to quality healthcare for 30 million people living in limited-resource settings annually by 2030. The initiative builds on decades of Lilly’s global health work to improve equitable access to diabetes care and medicines. In 2022, Lilly and its affiliates provided insulin and reusable pens to Direct Relief related to support of the Life for a Child program, impacting more than 30 countries worldwide.

Read the full article on Direct Relief's website here.

Upcoming Events

PQMD Pillar Talk Medical Donations Technology Showcase
February 21, 2023; 11am-12:30pm ET

2023 Concordia Americas Summit
March 9-10, 2023; Miami, Florida

Forecasting Healthy Futures Global Summit
March 14-16, 2023; Abu Dhabi, UAE

MedShare Share the Good Gala
April 18, 2023; 6:30 pm- New York 

2023 PQMD Global Health Policy Forum
April 24-27, 2023; Paris, France















2023 Concordia Americas Summit
March 9-10, 2023; Miami, Florida

Does your organization have news to share?
Contact
 Beth Haynes for placement in future newsletters.
Next Month's Theme: Measuring for Success

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