Quezon City, 22 March 2017 – Glovax Biotech Corp., an integrated distributor and retailer of vaccines in the Philippines, has joined Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to provide 40 million vaccine doses to the country’s medium- and low-income communities by 2020, reducing the cost of vaccinations by 75 percent and preventing countless disease outbreaks.

Launched in 2008, BCtA aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that engage people with less than US$8 per day in purchasing power as consumers, producers, suppliers and distributors. It is supported by several international organizations and hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

With a population of 100 million people – and an additional 2.5 million born each year – only 1 percent of the Philippines’ population gets regular vaccinations, mostly for influenza. Two of the biggest reasons for the country’s low vaccination rate are a lack of availability of vaccines and affordability. Glovax’s mission is to provide affordable access to vaccination for the country’s ‘missing middle’ – the 65 million Filipinos who have not been vaccinated.

Traditionally, the two main sources of vaccines in the Philippines were private pediatricians, which may not be afforded by low-income communities, and community health centres, which often suffer from supply shortages.

Glovax’s inclusive business model was initially designed to provide an affordable supply of vaccines for health providers. However, it was soon realized that often discounts provided by the company were not being passed on to consumers. In response, Glovax became fully integrated, offering vaccines directly to consumers through community health centres.

The company has now expanded by creating its own vaccination centres, reducing the cost by as much as 75%.. This integrated model enables Glovax to supply of a full range of life-saving vaccines directly to the poor communities that need them most. Glovax vaccines are 25 to 75 percent cheaper than prevailing vaccines in the market.

“The ‘missing middle’ has not been served by multinational companies or the Government, and reaching this group requires innovation”, said Giovanni Alingog, CEO of Glovax. “In order to maximize access and affordability for low-income communities, we set up vaccine kiosks in malls and introduced a roving mini-van clinic.”

By focusing on the huge market segment at the bottom of the economic pyramid, the company has become an industry leader in vaccine logistics and supply. To date, the company has distributed 7 million doses of various vaccines and contributed to vaccinating 2 million people – most of them from low-income communities.

According to Paula Pelaez, BCtA Programme Manager, “providing access to affordable vaccines for millions of people not only prevents communicable diseases that can devastate whole communities. It also reduces medical expenses and improves productivity and incomes in low-income communities. In this way, better health contributes to the entire country’s sustainable development”.

In order to fulfill its BCtA commitment to provide 40 million doses of vaccines in low- and middle-income communities by 2020, Glovax aims to open 100 vaccination centres across the country that specially cater to the ‘missing middle’. It is also entering into a public-private partnership with the Government to establish a vaccine manufacturing facility that fulfills vaccine requirements nationwide.

For further information:

Business Call to Action: Aimee Brown at aimee.brown@undp.org
Glovax Biotech Corp: Giovanni Alingog at galingog@gmail.com

Business Call to Action membership does not constitute a partnership with its funding and programme partners, UNDP or any UN agency.

About the Business Call to Action (BCtA): Launched at the United Nations in 2008, the Business Call to Action (BCtA) aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for both commercial success and development impact. BCtA is a unique multilateral alliance between key donor governments including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UK Department for International Development, US Agency for International Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Finland, and the United Nations Development Programme - which hosts the secretariat. For more information, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.

About Glovax Biotech Corp: Glovax is a fully integrated vaccine company in the Philippines that imports, distributes, and retails a complete line of vaccines at an affordable price, with the aim of improving vaccine access for low- and middle-income Filipinos. Its mission is to increase immunization coverage in the Philippines by improving awareness, access and affordability of vaccines for all people. In addition to enabling direct access to affordable high-quality vaccines, the company has provided over 110,000 vaccines for free since 2003 in partnership with civil society organizations. As a result, Glovax founder and CEO Giovanni Alingog was presented with the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2014 and the Community Service Award in 2011. For more information, visit www.glovaxbiotech.com.