Oakville, Ontario – Each year, during the first full week of February, Canada celebrates International Development Week (IDW) — a time to recognize how Canadians contribute to the global mission of eradicating poverty and building a more equitable world.
As a humanitarian organization dedicated to increasing access to medicine and improving the health of vulnerable people worldwide, Health Partners International Canada (HPIC) has witnessed first-hand how improved health can transform communities and create lasting change.
“I love to say that HPIC punches well above its weight,” said HPIC President Lois Brown. “We maximize the impact of each donation by liaising with local governments or health authorities in destination countries to confirm the need before we ship, and ensure that our partners are ready to receive, fully utilize, and distribute the medicines they receive.”
For 35 years, HPIC’s small but dedicated team, based in Oakville, Ontario and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, has quietly coordinated an extensive network of hundreds of domestic and international partners and volunteers. Together, they deliver medicine and medical care to approximately one million people each year — many living in remote, underserved, or crisis-affected regions.
In these hard-to-reach places, even basic medical treatment can be out of reach. Without timely intervention, minor illnesses can escalate into chronic conditions or result in preventable deaths. HPIC’s work ensures that lifesaving medicines reach those who need them most.
The HPIC partnership model begins with the Canadian pharmaceutical industry, whose generous donations of surplus medicines form the foundation of HPIC’s humanitarian response. From there, HPIC mobilizes financial support to cover shipping and logistics, ensuring that medicines and supplies are received, processed, and distributed efficiently to trusted partners in destination countries.
This intricate process often unfolds under tight timelines, especially during emergencies. HPIC’s staff continuously assess medicine availability, partner capacity, and official health needs across the 130 countries where HPIC has worked, ensuring that every shipment delivers maximum impact.
“This tremendous work could not be accomplished without the generosity of Canada’s pharmaceutical industry,” added Lois Brown. “Our pharma companies have donated $750 million worth of medicine to HPIC over the last 35 years. This is a huge testament to Canadian pharma’s commitment to humanitarian causes. Over 35 million men, women, and children, who otherwise would have gone without, have improved or restored their health and their ability to look after themselves and their families and contribute to their communities.”
About Health Partners International Canada (HPIC)
Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC) is a non-profit humanitarian charity that has increased access to medicine and restored health and hope to vulnerable communities for over 35 years. The only organization of its kind in Canada, HPIC is the charity of choice for gift-in-kind donations from Canada’s pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. HPIC equips volunteers, medical mission teams and humanitarian organizations with Humanitarian Medical Kits and delivers large provisions of medicine and medical supplies to areas of need. Working with our Canadian and global network of implementing partners, HPIC provides medical relief, responds to emergencies and builds local healthcare capacity. Every year HPIC provides medical treatment to approximately 1 million people in over 40 countries.
For more information about Health Partners International Canada, or to request a tour of the Oakville Distribution Centre, contact:
Deb Hopper
Director of Philanthropy
Health Partners International Canada
DHopper@hpicanada.ca
