EGA Press Release

Tuesday, 19 September 2006

EGA AWARD 2006 GRANTED TO BHF

The Executive Committee of the European Generic medicines Association (EGA) has voted unanimously to grant the 2006 edition of the EGA Award to the Business Humanitarian Forum (BHF) for their work to ensure access to medicines in Afghanistan through actively coordinating the construction of a generics plant in Kabul in conjunction with the European Generic medicines Association (EGA), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Deutsche Post/DHL and the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungs-gesellschaft (DEG).

It is under the aegis of BHF that the EGA has been engaged in building, equipping and training staff for a simple, direct tablet compression production facility in Afghanistan with capacity for dispensing, compressing and packaging processes with an annual production capacity of 300 to 400 million tablets per year. Initial medicines production will consist of antibiotics and analgesics, thus improving the availability, quality and access to essential medicines.

But, as EGA President Emile Loof noted, “Without the unfailing commitment of BHF to this project, bringing reliable, affordable medicines to Afghanis would not have been possible. Their invaluable contribution has truly merited the EGA Award 2006.” Ambassador John J. Maresca, President of BHF will accept the EGA award 2006 in a special ceremony on Friday, 22 September during the 12th EGA Annual Meeting in Budapest, Hungary.

The Business Humanitarian Forum, a non-profit association based in Geneva, was founded in January 1999 with the encouragement and support of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The organisation seeks to promote private sector involvement in post-conflict areas, working with humanitarian aid agencies already providing direct assistance in these areas, to enhance prospects for economic development as stability returns.

BHF was created to encourage dialogue and mutual support between the business and humanitarian communities. The BHF’s efforts are rooted in the knowledge that businesses and humanitarian organizations hold common interests in the stability and prosperity of developing societies and countries in transition. Businesses need the humanitarian organizations to stabilize these societies so they can invest and pursue their normal business activities. The humanitarian organizations need business investment so that, ultimately, these societies can stand on their own feet, and the humanitarian groups can turn to more urgent needs elsewhere.

With this goal in mind, the Afghanistan Generic Medicines Project has been designed to foster economic development and better the quality of life in the region by rebuilding the production capacity of the healthcare system.

More about the BHF and the projects they support is available on the BHF website: www.bhforum.ch.

About the EGA Award Photo of EGA Award Ceremony 2006

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