Access to Medicine

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More than 2,000,000,000 people around the world do not have access to medicine.

In low and middle-income countries, economic situations frequently result in affordable and appropriate healthcare being largely unavailable. Healthcare facilities are frequently battling serious shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies and health workers are challenged on a daily basis as they carry out their work with limited resources. On top of this, many families who are already struggling to provide food for their families, cannot afford to buy medicine or access healthcare services. The poorest and most vulnerable people are often forced to choose between food and medicine.

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Improving access to medicine can save millions of lives every year, enhance quality of life and protect livelihoods in communities that are often forgotten.

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What we are doing

HPIC improves access to medicine in vulnerable communities that are challenged in accessing quality healthcare. We do this through two key approaches:

Supporting Medical Missions

HPIC provides Humanitarian Medical Kits to support Canadian volunteers and healthcare professionals who go on medical mission trips to some of the world’s most marginalized communities. 

These kits enable the work of Canadian medical teams.  Many teams return to the same regions annually and their clinics are the only healthcare available in the community. The medicines provided have an immediate life-saving impact on the health and life of the people. Throughout the years, medicines in these kits have allowed breadwinners to go back to work, mothers to continue looking after their children, and students to go back to school.

Supporting Long-Term Community Health

HPIC works with partners, local governments and health facilities to increase access to medicines and medical supplies in vulnerable communities around the world. These partnerships improve the delivery of health services and the development of healthy and more productive communities in low-income communities.

Since 1990, HPIC has been working with committed, trusted partners to send large volumes of donated medicines by airlifts and ocean freight containers. These shipments include much-needed medicines and medical supplies for primary care and  specialized areas such as vision care, palliative care, surgical care and mental health care.

In all we do, we are committed to following the World Health Organization’s Guidelines for Medicine Donations. All medicine donations are top quality, have sufficient dating and meet needs identified by local health professionals. HPIC’s Health Canada Establishment License from Health Canada attests to our management of products with the same high level diligence and care as the manufacturer.