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Context
December 26, 2004 will remain in all our memories. The day after Christmas, the world discovered in horror the images of the tsunami that has just devastated entire territories across eastern Asia, leaving a trail of death, destruction and desolation.
In just a few seconds, 240,000 people lost their lives, millions more were left destitute; hundreds of kilometers of coastline were totally destroyed.
Partnership
In the wake of the event, the group responded immediately with emergency funds and drug donations. This was followed by the launch of the "Sharing in Solidarity" program to provide long-term support to the stricken populations of South East Asia. Emergency response - In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the Group did everything in its power to meet initial emergency needs. Sanofi-aventis affiliates in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia came forward to donate the most urgently-needed medicines to NGOs and associations already on the ground, in coordination with each of the governments concerned.
- By the end of December, the TULIPE association (International solidarity of pharmaceutical industries), which coordinates emergency transfers of medicines from France to international NGOs working at the local level, had sent out 96 emergency medical supply kits well stocked with sanofi-aventis medicines. Further shipments followed.
- The Group also shipped 6 tonnes of medicines to Sri Lanka: a total of 70,000 boxes of antibiotics, anti-diarrhea and anti-bacterial drugs. 150,000 doses of anti-malarial treatment were also donated to the Indonesian government.
Emergency financial aid A donation of 300,000 euros was made to the French Red Cross on December 30, 2004.
A second donation of 100,000 euros was made on January 4, 2005 to the Father Ceyrac Association, already partnered by sanofi-aventis, which works in the Tamil Nadu province of southern India, an area that suffered heavily from the tsunamis. Long-term support: the "Sharing in Solidarity" operation On January 25, 2005, a day of solidarity was organized at each of the Group's 300 sites around the world, to give sanofi-aventis employees the chance to contribute to joint initiatives with partner NGOs in the countries affected. - Twinning projects with devastated villages
The outpouring of solidarity from sanofi-aventis employees raised a total of 700,700 euros (330,700 € employee donations + 370,000 € donation-matching from the Group) to support long-term projects by twinning each sanofi-aventis country with shattered villages in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand.
The twinning projects and the 9 partner NGOs were chosen in close consultation with local sanofi-aventis managers and teams, who visited the disaster areas to assess needs and meet with the partners.
The funds raised were devoted mainly to restoring livelihoods (replacing lost fishing boats and nets, for example), rebuilding or repairing homes, ensuring access to healthcare (repairing clinics, training local health workers and financing mobile care units), children's education (rehabilitating schools, training new teachers, providing school supplies, etc.) and to providing counseling and social services to families. - Sponsorship projects for children
More than 800 Individual Group employees made personal commitments to sponsor children from the tsunami-stricken villages, through two of the partner NGOs. The Group also matched employee donations with a contribution of 130,000 euros to help get projects off the ground.
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