Novartis donated PHP19.3M to the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation, Inc. (PGHMFI) last June 24, 2020 for the purchase of locally-produced COVID-19 testing kits. “Our main thrust is to protect our frontline health workers (HCWs) and support the expansion of the country’s treatment and testing capacity,” said Ju-go Tsumura, Novartis Healthcare Philippines Country President & Managing Director.
UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla thanked the Novartis leadership team and highlighted the importance of this donation in the war against COVID-19. For her part, UP Manila National Institutes of Health (NIH) Executive Director Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco-de la Paz stated that this donation allowed the NIH and PGH to significantly step up their testing capacity. “To date, we have conducted 13,297 tests which were made possible by the collective efforts of UP Manila, PGH, NIH, and donors like Novartis who prioritize helping others during these extraordinarily trying times.”
PGH Director and PGHMFI Board of Trustee member Gerardo Legaspi mentioned how valuable this support from Novartis was to PGH, the biggest COVID-19 referral hospital in the country which has served more than 600 COVID patients and over 3,000 more with COVID-related conditions.
Gracing the occasion was His Excellency Alain Gaschen, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Philippines, who shared how Swiss companies like Novartis not only cater to the demand for drugs but also share knowledge and foster partnerships to support manifold public health.
Novartis, through its generics division Sandoz also donated hydroxychloroquine to the DOH as potential treatment for about 1,000 hospitalized patients. Other donations of Novartis were PPEs and food packs for HCWs.
The Novartis initiatives in the Philippines are part of it’s global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the creation of a global USD 20 million fund to support impacted communities around the world.
