CSR and Sustainability Forum

Abbott (Abott Park, IL) and its philanthropic foundation, the Abbott Fund, are providing $335,000 in initial humanitarian aid to help with flood relief efforts in Pakistan. The funding includes $175,000 in grants to Americares, CARE Pakistan, the National Commission for Human Development, and the Swat Relief Initiative. Abbott is donating antibiotics, rehydration solutions, vitamins, and medicines valued at $160,000 to AmericaCares, Direct Relief International, Medical Team International, and the Swat Relief Initiative. In addition, Abbott Pakistan is working in partnership with the National Rural Support Program to develop a plan for local Abbott employees to contribute cash donations and volunteer to help package food and additional relief supplies for distribution in affected areas.

BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) contributed EUR 250,000 ($317,000) to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund for immediate aid to the flood victims in Pakistan. The donation is provided by the BASF Social Foundation.

Bristol Myers Squibb (New York) and the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) Crisis Task Force have formed an agreement to assist ADAPs to provide antiretroviral medicines to people living with HIV and AIDS. The agreement builds on a pact, signed in March 2010, for a multiyear enhancement. The ADAP Crisis Task Force was formed in December 2002 by state AIDS/ADAP directors concerned about the fiscal shortfalls in funding AIDS treatment programs. 

Johnson Controls (Milwaukee, WI), a process control and automation provider, is donating $130,000 in Monterrey, Mexico, for relief efforts stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Alex. In addition, 157 Johnson Control employees delivered 1200 aid packages to local residents.

Merck & Co. (Whitehouse Station, NJ) reported that the Merck Company Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are committing $60 million to support Botswana’s African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP), a public–private partnership. With the current pledge and past funding, the total cash contributions of Merck and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation amount to $166.5 million. Merck will also continue the contribution of its HIV medicines: Crixivan (indinavir), Stocrin (efavirenz), Atripla (efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir), and Isentress (raltegravir).

In other news, Merck & Co. is launching the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN), a collaborative network designed to train and mobilize advocates for treating and caring for African-American Americans with HIV, strengthening local and national leadership, raising HIV science and treatment literacy, and advocating for policy change and research priorities.