Physical Health Israel Project #20129

Haverim: Distributing free medication in Israel

by Friends For Health

Haverim: Distributing free medication in Israel

Project Report | Dec 31, 2020
In 2020 we managed to help double our help!

By Dalit Boutboul | Communications and Marketing

December 29th, 2020: Ministry of Health Award

2020 has been the most challenging year we've every experience.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Haverim has faced unprecedented challenges.

Our vision, of “Making sure no people in Israel will have to choose between medicine – and food” has never, in our 17 years of existence, been more urgent.

Following an avalanche of requests for medication, from the first lock-down through to the current one (No. 3), we have been called on to dispatch free medication to over 9,000 people a month, compared to 5,000 a month before Covid-19.

We were invited to be part of the Israeli Defense Force home front command center, serving as the 'go to' organization for people who urgently need medicine. We also called upon pharmaceutical companies to supply us with significantly higher quantities of medicines, in order to respond to the sudden rise in demand. This was especially urgent, as our supply of incoming medicines (from SuperPharm for example) greatly decreased due to the lockdown.

In the midst of it all, we managed to fast-track the purchase and tailoring of another Free Medicine van, which was vital in helping us reach and deliver the extra packages of meds.

The pressure and strain on Haverim’s resources were enormous and unrelenting.

The inbound call rate was virtually unmanageable. The logistics department was overstretched. The staff worked overtime and we have had to recruit additional pharmacists, as our volunteer pharmacists – all retirees - have been in lock-down in their homes and are still unable to come to work.

After the unimaginably challenging peak, we returned to a 'new normal' situation, where thousands of the newly unemployed now appeal to us for help, and we are still short-staffed as our elderly volunteers remain at home.

We prevailed! And we succeeded in forging on largely thanks to you and to all our supporters worldwide!

Links:

Free Medication for the Needy: Here's how it works

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Sep 2, 2020
2nd Corona Wave - and We're Still Giving out Meds!

By Dalit Boutboul | Marketing and Communications

Sometimes we deliver directly to a hospital bed..

At Haverim L'Refuah we share a goal for 'Tikun Olam'; to improve and repair our world.

Our mission is to ensure that every person in Israel receives the medicines they need, regardless of their economic situation, so that nobody no longer need choose between medicine – and food - ever again.

Our Free Pharmacy project is a unique and ground-breaking initiative worldwide, providing over 5,500 people with life-saving medication every month, free of charge. The medicine is collected from over 800 medicine collection points throughout the country. For example: all SuperPharm branches throughout Israel are now drop off points, as well as organizations such as Zakah and United Hatzalah and companies such as Bank Mizrahi and El Al. We receive and gather the medicine from many sources: from private people, from companies and also from over 30 pharmaceutical companies - which send us nearly expired medicines.

By close cooperation with leading pharmaceutical companies, we are able to send both chronic, and rare and expensive medicine directly to our list of patients. This initiative enables us to provide even more chronic and ill patients with the medicine they simply cannot afford. Overall, we help over 40,000 people a year. This year we signed an agreement with the IDF, where the stockpiles of unused medicine (for both soldiers and civilians) are now sent to Haverim.

After rigorous sorting by professional pharmacists, the medicines are then delivered to the patient via volunteer couriers or registered mail. Expired drugs are sent to professional (‘green’) disposal, ensuring that the medicines never reach and pollute our ground and water. Over 350 packages of free medicine are delivered every day to patients throughout Israel.

During the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, we have been submerged with thousands of additional requests for help. From 5,500 packages a month - we suddenly were called to supply nearly 9,000 people with free medicines, part of the nearly one million people who found themselves unemployed.

For our nearly 18 years of existence, we have always been proud of our responsible financial management, but for the first time ever, we decided that this could not be a deterrant. Within weeks we extended the butget by millions of shekels, largely spent on personnel (most of our elderly volunteers were in lock down) and on deliveries to locked-down elderly.

A short video about how we do what we do can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/55JKO7uhaLc
Channel 11 came by as well: https://youtu.be/2_DI2ummiY4.

Thanks to your support, we can extend a helping hand to nearly anyone asking for our help. Together we make sure that nobody need choose between medicine and food every again.

Thank you.

Usually we deliver directly to the elderly's home

Links:

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May 7, 2020
With 25% unemployment: EVERYONE calls us for free meds!

By Dalit Boutboul | Marketing and Communications

Our vision, of “Making sure no people in Israel will have to choose between medicine – and food” has never, in our 17 years of existence, been more urgent.

We wanted to share with you the extraordinary demands we have been encountering in these last two months since the Covid-19 crisis hit Israel.

As over one million Israelis suddenly became unemployed in this crisis, Haverim received an avalanche of requests for medicine. We now supply some 9,000 packages of free medicine monthly compared to 5,000 a month before Covid-19.

Haverim is now part of the Israeli Defense Force home front command center. This means that municipalities, social workers, all the Health Maintenance Organizations and pharmacies send patients to our hotline. These are Israelis who are sent to Haverim because they no longer have the means with which to pay for their medicines. Of course, there are various government subsidies available none of which is sufficient for Haverim or for those in dire need.

Haverim has also made appeals to all the pharmaceutical companies with which we work requesting more free medicine. It is gratifying that they have all responded positively and are sending additional medicines every day.

The pressure and strain on Haverim’s resources are enormous and unrelenting.

Our inbound call rate is virtually unmanageable. The logistics department is overstretched. The staff is working overtime and we have recruited additional pharmacists, as all our volunteer pharmacists – retirees - have been isolated in their homes.

I am reaching out for you to give to Haverim to help these people who now, more than ever need our support.

Let’s try to ensure that no family needs to choose between medicine – and food.

Links:

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