Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) and International Medical Corps are partnering to provide health care and other vital services to Syrians who were forced to flee their homes because of Syria’s civil war.
“Gilead Sciences’ very generous support will make it possible for International Medical Corps to protect the health of Syrian families as well as the local communities hosting them,” said Nancy Aossey, President and CEO of International Medical Corps. “With the war in Syria grinding on with no end in sight, these families and communities need our help. Gilead Sciences’ generosity will help us continue to be wherever we are most needed and expand our efforts to reach more Syrian families with lifesaving medical care and other services.”
Gilead Sciences donated $500,000 to support International Medical Corps’ programs supporting Syrians across the Middle East. This donation will help International Medical Corps increase its work to provide health care to Syrian families and vulnerable host communities as well as train frontline and community health workers, deliver pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies, and run health education campaigns in refugee communities.
“We are moved by the efforts of the International Medical Corps to provide critical health services urgently to the people affected across this region,” said Gregg Alton, Gilead Executive Vice President Commercial and Access Operations ALA, Corporate and Medical Affairs. “It is our hope that through this partnership the refugee community will be able to overcome the many political, social and geographic barriers they face in accessing care.”
International Medical Corps has been on the frontlines of the Syria crisis since the conflict began, working to address the health and health-care related needs of refugees and vulnerable host communities in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Greece. Last year, International Medical Corps provided more than 1.4 million medical consultations to refugees living in camps and urban settings—40 percent of which were for children under 18 years of age.
Now in its sixth year, the conflict in Syria has sparked one of the largest migrations in modern history, with more than 11 million Syrians having fled their homes because of the war. An estimated 4.8 million Syrians are seeking refuge in other countries.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need. The company’s mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases worldwide. Gilead has operations in more than 30 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.