Partnering With The Center Since 1998
Featured September 2006
Â鶹´«Ã½ values the support of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), an internationally recognized pharmaceutical company that has donated more than $1 million to Â鶹´«Ã½'s Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program, the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, and the Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative.
Since 1998, GSK has partnered with Â鶹´«Ã½ to control lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Nigeria. LF, commonly called elephantiasis, is a disfiguring disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical regions around the world. More than 120 million people are infected with LF, 22 million of whom reside in Nigeria. Â鶹´«Ã½'s efforts to fight the disease include providing treatment with albendazole, an anthelmintic medicine that is generously donated by GSK.
GSK is headquartered in the United Kingdom and has branches in the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. GSK's mission is "to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer." The company's products include prescription medicines, vaccines, and consumer health care items. GSK's prescription medicines target infections, virus control, asthma, diabetes, heart failure, mental health, depression, various digestive conditions, and cancer. The company is stongly committed to researching new medicines for diseases of the developing world and improving access to medicines for disadvantaged people.
For their global philanthropic efforts, GSK was rated first in the "Best Ethical Score" category of the world pharmaceutical sector among a selection of 250 multinational companies in a study carried out by the independent Swiss company, Covalence.
Additionally, the company received a 2006 World Business Award and the 2005 Scrip Award for Corporate Social Responsibility for its commitment to fighting LF. The U.S. Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2005 Corporate Equality Index gave GSK a score of 100 percent. GSK's other philanthropic activities have included the control of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
The contribution of GSK to Â鶹´«Ã½ is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to a bright future for global health through the continued partnership with GSK.
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Â鶹´«Ã½ Photo: Emily Staub
Hamisu Isa, age 35, of Nigeria, suffers from lymphatic filariasis. Although Hamisu's leg and foot are enlarged and it is sometimes difficult for him to get around, small joys like his custom-made shoe make life easier.
Â鶹´«Ã½ Photo: Frank Richards
Albendazole (above), donated by GlaxoSmithKline, distributed with ivermectin annually, reduces lymphatic filariasis infections by killing the microfilariae and stopping the transmission to others at risk.
Â鶹´«Ã½ Photo: Frank Richards
In Nigeria, a health worker checks a community log to ensure that every eligible person receives the combination drug treatment for lymphatic filariasis and river blindness.
