GIVMED Share medicine Share life

As a winner, I will use the prize money to accelerate the implementation of actions that we have identified in the organization's strategic plan. Specifically:

1.Market research to expand our organization’s activities to other countries. It includes the need assessment, regarding the access to medicines for vulnerable groups, the management of leftover medicines, the study of the legal framework and the search for possible partners in each country. This will transmit our disruptive model on the upcycling of medicine waste to other countries for the benefit of socially vulnerable groups.

2.Include hospitals in the GIVMED network so that they can benefit from medicine donations made by individuals, pharmaceutical companies, and public benefit entities. Thus, it will be possible for the public health system to save financial resources and for public hospitals to deal with product deficiencies they face.

3.Study on the environmental impact of leftover medicines in Europe, in collaboration with interested research centers and arrange awareness campaigns, to communicate the results of the study to the public.

The individual prize money, I will use to attend short educational courses that will help me to develop the necessary skills to achieve the objectives of GIVMED.

The origin story comes from 2008, when my grandfather passed away and my family ended up with a lot of medicines that we didn’t know how to handle. A couple of years later, having worked at Google and feeling disappointed with the crisis in Greece, where 25% of people lived below the poverty line, I decided to take action by making good use of my experience. I co-founded the tech nonprofit organization (NPO) GIVMED, which is the only network for medicine donations with multiple benefits for society, the national health system, and the environment. Our vision is to ensure access to medicines for socially vulnerable people and we achieve this with the following actions:

1.Development of an efficient web network of public and private actors for the donation of medicine

2.Raising public awareness on access to medicine through communication actions

3.Improvement of the legislative framework regarding the donation of medicine by citizens

4.Provision of training to socially vulnerable groups and health professionals on medicine-related issues.

Our goals for the future are to deepen these 4 axes and expand to other countries so that medicine upcycling becomes part of solving the problems of access to medicines and environmental pollution.

Unused medicine and access to medicine are two interrelated growing global problems that affect societies, economies and the environment.

The number of medicines that go to waste each year in the United States (US) is $5 billion worth. Meanwhile, one in four Americans cannot afford the prescription medication they need. 

Studies highlight the presence of pharmaceutical substances in the environment. Only in Colorado, the long-term care facilities throw away 17.5 tons of potentially reusable medicines every year. These substances end up in the drinking water consumed by more than 40 million residents of the US. 

In Greece, an estimated 34.000.000 packs of medicine expire in households and are thrown away each year. Additionally, due to its financial downfall, over a third of Greece’s 10-million-person population is in poverty facing difficulties to have unobstructed access to medicines.

The leftover medicines serve also as prime contributors to the thousands of accidental poisoning cases reported each year. Only in the US, more than 30 children under age 6 die from accidental medication-related poisoning.

In the same context, health care systems are facing increasing problems in terms of costs, and the donation of leftover medicine helps cut large amounts of preventable costs.

The success of the solution we have designed is based on the simplicity of the concept, which is medicine upcycling. Innovation is based on the way we implement this concept, using technology and implementing a holistic strategy on access to medicine. Regarding technology, we have developed four applications:

1. MEDforALL: allows every individual to donate leftover medicines to non-profit organizations.

2. MEDforU: allows every vulnerable person to find out where he can take his medications for free. The app is available in five languages (English, French, Greek, Farsi, Arabic) to serve also the refugee population.

3. MEDforNGOs: acts as a stock management system and as an ordering system for medicines by public benefit organizations.

4. GIVMED Analytics: the internal management platform of all data collected from the above applications.

Our new approach, which is in the context of sharing economy and upcycling that have been applied in several areas in recent years, is disruptive, because we do not collect medicines in a particular area, but we take advantage of our partners’ warehouses. We do not also undertake transportation, which is made by the beneficiaries or a courier company, which is a strategic partner and provides us free services.

Limited access to medicine and medicine waste are two global problems that we face effectively by delivering benefits for society,the national health system, and the environment.The steps we are taking to achieve our planned impact, are based on the methodology of design thinking:

1.We are in constant communication with natural and legal entities involved in accessing to medicine for vulnerable groups.

2.We record their needs and design solutions that we test in the involved parties.

3.Once we have established the effectiveness of a solution, we automate it by developing technological tools.

4.We monitor their progress and carry out evaluations for the continuous development of our services.

At the same time,we have developed a strategic plan, involving all stakeholders and specific values with which we operate.An important role in every step is played by the highly skilled team and advisors.

The effectiveness of the way the organization works is demonstrated by the impact to date.During the 5 years of action in Greece,having spent less than 400,000 euros,we have managed to save medicines totaling 2,000,000 euros, we have carried out important actions of awareness, advocacy and education.The quality of our work has been recognized by international media,such as BBC World Hacks,and awards.

GIVMED supports 120 Public Benefit Bodies ("PBBs";nursing homes,social pharmacies, NGOs) covering on a monthly basis 30% of their medicine needs.These 120 PBBs support 20,000 people in need, do not have access to the medicine they need and are affected directly and meaningfully by GIVMED.Within this framework, in 2020 we offered over 80,000 boxes of medicine with a total worth of 1,148,049.70 USD,quadrupling our impact compared to 2019.During the first four months of 2021 we have donated 25,000 boxes of medicines,with the aim to reach 120,000 boxes of medicines to 140 PBBs,serving 25,000 people in need.

Regarding the training and education field, we have trained 40 Health Professionals about topics related to medicine management and vaccination with the aim to reach 100 by the end of the year. Also, through the MEDforU mobile app, the hotline and GIVMED’s website,we have informed 1,033 people in need and we aim to reach about 3,000 by the end of the year.

Finally,in the field of advocacy,we have held 25 meetings with high-level stakeholders in the field of health and medicine (Members of Parliament, Member of the European Parliament,Presidents of relevant organizations),with the aim to conduct 10 more meetings until the end of the year.

The impact goals we have set are to:

1.Reach and serve 140 PBBs (70% of the Total Addressable Market)

2.Cover 50% for medicine needs of every PBB

3.Donate 50,000 boxes of para-pharmaceuticals and orthopedics

4.Educate 3,000 people about medicine issues

5.To hold 35 meetings with high-level stakeholders in the field of health

6.Organize a big informative campaign about donation.

In order to achieve these goals, we have set specific action plans in each area of the organization and we have secured the biggest amount of budget we need.

Regarding the way we measure our progress,since we are a technological non-profit organization, we collect data for each one of our activities, which contributes significantly to always be aware about the impact of our actions. We have developed "GIVMED Analytics" that collects data from our applications (MEDforNGOs,MEDforALL,MEDforU), groups them to evaluate our actions, report properly to donors and get the right decisions to improve our action plan. For the actions where we have not developed our own software (education, advocacy, communications) each member of the leadership team tracks specific KPIs which monitors and consults to make decisions. Especially in the field of communications, we utilize the data we collect from third-party platforms.

Below are the barriers we face to accomplish our goals in the next year and how we plan to overcome them: 

1.Insufficient Public Awareness about medicine donation and access to medicine is the biggest challenge we face, as it requires a significant budget to conduct national campaigns to overcome it.In this context,our marketing plan includes a series of actions with partners that enhance the viral diffusion of our key messages and the searching of financial resources exclusively for campaigns.

Winning the elevate prize will significantly help us overcome this barrier, in two ways:

A.The mentors,the connections,and the expertise it provides will help us to become social impact influencers,find fans and build platforms to do great things.

B.The money we will secure will be used in the context of educational campaigns in media to spread our messages.

2.The lacking legal framework regarding the operation of Social Pharmacies also affects our strategy to achieve our goals.To address this,we perform a series of advocacy actions,such as legal framework proposals and meetings with Stakeholders.Elevate Prize’s support is important in this area,because gives the opportunity for mentoring and connections with other leaders who have faced similar challenges and are able to provide useful best practices.

We consider this kind of support from the Elevate Prize to be the main benefit for each winner, because:

1.An even larger audience is informed internationally about medicine donation and the problem of limited access to medicine. Although these are two issues with very limited recognition and awareness,they concern a very large percentage of the population and everyone can easily get involved.

2.Even more organizations that need medicines,sponsors and other target groups of the organization, will understand the added value of GIVMED, with the aim to be part of this initiative with the developed brand recognition and fanbase.This will offer significant financial resources,partnerships in the organization and opportunities for extensions to other countries where there are similar problems, and it also will inspire state actors to implement donation and reuse programs of unused medications.

3.The problem of medicine waste is highlighted, not only in Greece,but worldwide, through the Elevate Prize and other leaders.We believe that medicine waste can be highlighted relatively with the problem of food waste (there are thousands of related initiatives around the world),as both involve people in need of basic living goods through the practice of upcycling which has many benefits for the economy and the environment.

The organization’s leadership team consists of the co-founder Thanasis Vratimos and the Coordinators of each sector of the organization (Communications, Technology, Partners).It is a leadership team that consists of 50% women and has absolute respect for the sexual,political,religious, and generally personal choices of each member. The organization's respect for diversity, equitability, inclusivity is evidenced by the choices with regards the rest of the staff,the advisors,the volunteers and the external partners.In total, the group consists of 27 people, 60% of women within different age groups (22-60 years old). During five years of experience,the leadership team has developed procedures to take advantage in a beneficial way for the organization,the different background of each one and we have found that this approach promotes the overall values of the organization and the personal development of each member.We have found that mutual respect, complementary and the contradiction of personalities among the staff, volunteers, associates, and advisors of the organization elaborate every action.Our two main goals for the next period are to:

1.Gain more age diversity in the leadership team which requires more financial resources

2.Attract more volunteers and staff from Socially Vulnerable Groups who have experienced the problem of access to medicine.

My team and I are the most well-positioned,because:

1.We have different hard skills based on our previous academic background (engineering,marketing, business management,law,political sciences) and work experience (Google,startups,NGOs,SMEs) that complementary bring important results.Everyone uses their skills in the best possible way to give their personal character to the actions of the organization,not only to remain motivated,but also to have the maximum possible impact.

2.We are passionate about solving this problem that affects thousands of people in poverty.Having lived the first decade of our adult life in Greece with economic crisis, we have seen relatives and friends who had a good life,end up in poverty.Many of us, have faced the problem of access to medicine and management of surplus of medicine. This crisis has brought us face to face with our moral obligation to support people in need by utilizing our knowledge and values.

3.Having unique experience in this sector,we have developed procedures to learn about the evolution of the problem we solve through the collaboration with PBBs and the people they serve.This knowledge is used in the planning of new actions, as reflected in the holistic approach that the organization has reached,while it started with only a single action.

During my absence due to the nine-month military-service, I hired a highly experienced director to replace me.  The recruitment process was well-designed and supported by GIVMED’s advisors and leadership team. 

A few months later, I noticed the first conflicts between the director and a member of the team. At first, I managed them by conducting 1-1 meetings, defining more specific roles and organizing a workshop with an occupational psychologist for the leadership team. Although the workshop was successful, after a couple of months the issue reappeared resulting in new conflicts between the director and other members of the team, low motivation, and negative atmosphere. So, I realized that I had to act and resolve this issue for the smooth operation of GIVMED. After strong consideration, I decided that the Director should leave the team. 
Now, 2,5 years later, I am proud of that hard decision because it stabilized the work environment and reassured the smooth collaboration within the team members. I continue the 1-1 meetings with all employees regularly to prevent potential issues. In fact, it is important to highlight the difficulty of managing teams in NGOs, where wages are lower and employee burnouts are more common than for-profit companies. 

Since 2016, we have presented the impact of GIVMED on dozens of television and radio shows and other videos. Some of the most important are:

1. BBC World Hack: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/st...

2. Social Investment Tournament by EIB Institute:

3. Follow up by Social Investment Tournament by EIB Institute: 

4. Greek Public Television:

A. (minute: 03:02:00): https://www.ertflix.gr/ert1/ap...

B. (minute: 01:26:30): https://www.ertflix.gr/ert3/12...

5. TEDxTalk:

As Elevate Prize Winner, the funding will be used to accelerate the organization:

1.We will hire staff,to develop the team that is responsible for the facilitation of medicine donation, which will undertake to include in the GIVMED network the 120 hospitals of the country. Special emphasis will be given to the technology team, so each of our actions to be automated by technological tools that allow its correct, scalable and efficient implementation.

2.We will conduct informative campaigns in order to attract individuals to donate medicines, to invite people in need to find their medicines free of charge in social pharmacies and to engage stakeholders in the field of health and medicine for advocacy objectives.

3.We will start new projects that will contribute to the holistic approach that we have developed in order to address the problem of limited access to medicine. Specifically, we will carry out research on environmental pollution by medicines and will conduct market research (needs assessment, search for partners, studies of legal framework), to expand our model to other countries.

4.The individual cash prize will be used to attend training programs and courses that will help me develop the necessary skills to achieve the goals of GIVMED.

Partnerships are the core of GIVMED,as our main business includes developing a network of PBBs. Therefore, we cooperate with 120 PBBs throughout Greece, in order to support them in meeting their needs for medicines and donating medicine surplus. Our support includes the provision of special software and weekly communication with them to meet their pharmaceutical needs.

We have also developed strategic partnerships with organizations such as:

1. Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine of the University of Athens: We utilize their high academic level,to develop collaborative programs in the field of training and education of vulnerable groups and health professionals on issues related to medicine and vaccination.

2. Doctors of the World-Greece:We utilize the great experience of the organization,to implement joint advocacy actions about issues related to medicine donation.

3. iSea:This is a very specialized organization in the field of environment that we collaborate to investigate the problem of environmental pollution by medicines.

In the past, we have developed collaborations with Public Services,Ministries,NGOs,Companies and Individuals for the implementation of targeted actions in the context of our activity.

In general,we are extrovert and we develop partnerships,as we believe that the expertise of each organization should be combined to achieve optimal results.