Lilly Donation Provides Needed Medication for Patients in Kenya
Eli Lilly and Company donated more than $66 million in medication over the last two years related to support of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) partnership to help people in western Kenya living with cancer, diabetes and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Dr. Wilson K. Aruasa, MBS, EBS, (second from left) Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital CEO, receives the delivery of medication donated by Eli Lilly and Company.
Lilly’s product donations now total $215 million over the last 20 years, including a record-setting annual donation of $36 million of medication in 2021. In addition to product donations, Lilly and the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation provide philanthropic support related to several AMPATH care initiatives, including the recent expansion into Ghana and Mexico. Lilly also sponsors an engagement program for Lilly employees to lend their expertise to the partnership through a program called Connecting Hearts Abroad.
Indiana University (IU) initiated the AMPATH partnership with Moi University School of Medicine and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Kenya more than 30 years ago and now leads more than a dozen universities and health centers around the world working with Kenyan colleagues.
“We are tremendously grateful for the generosity of Lilly and the Lilly Foundation, which enables IU School of Medicine physicians and their U.S. and Kenyan colleagues to dramatically improve the future for people facing serious illnesses in Africa,” IU President Pamela Whitten said.
“People throughout western Kenya know about Indiana and Indiana University because of the AMPATH partnership. Our work there, always leading with care, is helping to improve the health and wellbeing of countless Kenyans,” IU School of Medicine Dean Jay L. Hess said.
The donated medication received by AMPATH partner Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital will help patients in Kenya.
In addition to supporting care delivery, the AMPATH mission also includes education and research. More than 2,200 medical trainees from partner institutions have participated in educational exchanges. AMPATH-affiliated research by Kenyan and consortium investigators has received more than $210 million in funding to address challenges related to HIV, cancer, chronic diseases, and a myriad of other healthcare issues.
The Lilly products that are ultimately received by AMPATH partner MTRH in Eldoret, Kenya, provide access to medications that are not available or in limited supply through the Ministry of Health care system.
While receiving the medication consignment on Thursday, March 10, 2022, MTRH CEO Dr. Wilson K. Aruasa, MBS, EBS, said MTRH serves 24 million people residing in 25 counties in the western half of Kenya and as such these medications will immensely benefit patients and families afflicted with cancer, mental health and chronic disease diagnoses.
“We cherish the support extended to us by our long-time partners, Lilly and The Lilly Foundation, in alleviating the suffering of our patients. These efforts spearheaded by the AMPATH partnership have resulted in an integrated healthcare system,” he affirmed.