A donation of $1million (£560,000) has been made by the GlaxoSmithKline
multinational pharmaceuticals company to the South Asia Earthquake
Relief Fund.
The money is earmarked for reconstruction to help the 3.5 million
people made homeless in the earthquake that struck Pakistan and India
in October 2005, many of whom face a hard winter with little shelter.
Donations, which are being made after an appeal to US organizations by
President George Bush, are administered by the Committee to Encourage
Corporate Philanthropy, a forum led by company chief executives.
Within 48 hours of the disaster GSK delivered free emergency supplies
of antibiotics for more than 100,000 people through its Pakistan
operation.
More recently the company offered 350,000 doses of hepatitis A vaccine
for use in relief camps and has agreed to match employee donations to
the fund.
