The latest outbreak of Covid-19 in India, hit close to home for Alvotech employees as many colleagues have relocated to Iceland from India to join the company. In a gesture of solidarity, the company management initiated a fundraising program to provide relief to the suffering areas.
Over ISK 1.6 million or almost EUR 11 thousand were raised by employees, so with the company’s contribution the donation totals ISK 3.2 million (EUR 22 thousand). A joint decision of the management and Indian employees was to donate the funds to UNICEF's emergency operations in India. Alvotech is already a significant sponsor of UNICEF’s Covax project
Last week, our colleagues Ritika Lakhotia and Jegadeesh Subramaniyam discussed the situation in India and our fundraising efforts with Icelandic journal Frettabladid. You can read the interview (in Icelandic) here.
The funds will be used to provide oxygen generation plants, testing systems, hygiene kits and other essential supplies, delivered by UNICEF.
Róbert Wessman, Alvotech's founder and Chairman of the Board, had this to say about the initiative:
“The situation in India is close to our hearts. We have been so fortunate to have many talented people from India move to Iceland to join us on our journey to make high quality biosimilars accessible to everyone, not just the privileged few. By initiating the fundraising and matching employee donations, we managed to raise an impressive amount that UNICEF will put into good use in the fight against Covid-19 in India.” Róbert Wessman continued to say that “our sincere thanks go to the people of UNICEF for their vital role and to the Alvotech employees for their generosity."