User:Association Tulipe/Tulip Association

Tulipe association (Transfert d'urgence de l'industrie pharmaceutique) is a non-governmental organization recognized as a public utility organizationin France with a medical mission.

It was created in 1982 by the Syndicat National de l'Industrie Pharmaceutique (SNIP), now the professional organization of pharmaceutical companies (LEEM). Tulipe provides medicines and health products to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in war zones, natural disasters and health crises.

The association operates thanks to the contributions of its member companies and their donations of medicines. Tulipe, which has the status of a pharmaceutical establishment, acts as an intermediary between donor healthcare companies and recipient NGOs.

History
It was the war situation in Poland in 1982 that led health professionals to create the Tulipe association,.

Since 1982, the association has been involved in numerous natural disasters, health crises and conflicts, through donations of healthcare products. From its earliest years, the association has sponsored humanitarian medical organizations by donating health equipment. Since 1984, Tulipe has also been preparing emergency medical canteens for NGOs and doctors on humanitarian missions. In 1984, Tulipe took part in Operation Sahel 1984. Canteens of medicines were transported by Camions de l'Espoir to Sahel countries during the food crisis affecting the region' s populations. The association supplies 3.5 metric tons of health products to around 100 canteens.

Medical aids 1984-2003
In 1984, the association had already sponsored eight emergency medical operations, including two in Poland with Médecins du Monde and one in Afghanistan with Aide Médicale Internationale. Tulipe responded to a malaria epidemic in Madagascar in 1989. During the devastating earthquake that struck Iran on 21 June 1990, killing more than 45,000 people, the association provided healthcare products. Medical relief was sent to Peru when a serious cholera epidemic affected the country in February 1991. During a tuberculosis epidemic in Cambodia, the association also provided support by sending medicines to the population. In December 2001, during the war in Afghanistan, Tulipe intervened with a three-tonne shipment of medicines, which the association claims to have sent for emergency care. Tulipe took action during the war in Iraq in 2003, donating medical supplies to the Red Cross for refugees in neighbouring countries.

Operations since 2004
Four tonnes of health products collected by the association were sent to Asia after the Tsunami in 2004. Other donations of medicines and medical equipment were made by Tulipe and sent to Lebanon in 2006, during the war with Israel, to Myanmar, to Haiti during the 2010 earthquake , to the Philippines in 2013 and to Syria since 2012 with the Urgence Solidarité Syrie association. The association sent some medical supplies during the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, via its partner SSF, the USAR World Relief Corps, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepalese authorities. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean and the West Indies. To provide aid to the populations of Saint Martin, Saint Barthélémy and Haiti, the Tulipe association prepares and then donates around twenty medical kits, representing more than one tonne of medicines. NGOs such as Secouristes sans frontières then distribute these donations locally.

Partnership with the Crisis and Support Centre
On 19 December 2017, a partnership agreement on humanitarian operations conducted by the Crisis and Support Centre was signed between the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the President of the Tulipe association. The agreement provides for direct support by Tulipe for emergency operations conducted by the Crisis and Support Centre during humanitarian crises.

Operations in Lebanon
Following the Beirut Port explosion on 4 August 2020, the Tulipe association collected and prepared emergency kits which were transported and distributed a few days after the disaster by Première Urgence Internationale, with the support of the French Ministry of Defence and UNICEF. Further donations will be made in Lebanon between 2020 and 2021 through the Order of Malta.

In 2021, the association is also contributing to a donation of one million euros in medical equipment for Lebanon with the Ministries of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Solidarity and Health, in coordination with the Crisis and Support Centre of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Operations in Afghanistan and Haiti
Tulipe also donates health equipment and medicines to Afghanistan. Following the earthquake in Haiti on 14 August 2021, a French army patrol frigate has been chartered to transport humanitarian supplies, including 30 medical kits (1.7 tonnes) in partnership with the Crisis and Support Centre.

The war in Ukraine
The association and its volunteers are mobilising in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. A number of organisations and associations, including the Ukrainian Red Cross, Première Urgence Internationale and Aide Médicale Caritative France-Ukraine, launched appeals for donations, which were then forwarded and distributed to help care for the wounded civilians and soldiers.

Since the beginning of the war, the Tulipe association has been preparing and donating packed trunks of emergency medical equipment from its warehouse near Roissy. The association's donations are only made in response to requests made by the beneficiary organisations or through the Crisis and Support Centre of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

On 21 March 2022, an operation of solidarity was organised by the French government, to which Tulipe contributed with a donation of nine tonnes of medicines. The association is backed by French healthcare companies and 15 pharmaceutical laboratories. These donations will be used to care for the injured and chronically ill in Ukraine.

In May 2022, Tulipe made a donation of medicines and infant milk to the NGO Chaîne de l'Espoir, which distributed them to the Mykolaïv regional hospital.

On 28 September 2022, the humanitarian operation "A boat for Ukraine" is launched from Marseille. The Tulipe association took part in this humanitarian convoy, coordinated by the crisis and support centre of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, with a donation of 14 tonnes of medicines and emergency equipment.

Operation of the association
Tulipe acts as an interface between its members' healthcare companies and NGOs. It coordinates donations of medical equipment from these companies with associations distributing donations in areas of conflict, humanitarian crisis or disaster.

The association collects medicines and medical devices, then ensures their traceability and proper use once they have been dispatched to the area. By donating health products to Tulipe, companies transfer pharmaceutical responsibility to the collecting organisation.

The equipment and medicines are packaged in kits or canteens that meet the needs of NGOs in the field. The products are then made available to the requesting organisations within 48 hours.

Governance
Tulipe is an association under the French law of 1901, chaired by Karine Levesque since 7 November 2023, run by a four-member executive committee and a 16-member board of directors. The officers are Karine Levesque, Olivier Poirieux (vice-chairman), Pascal Le Guyader and Thomas Borel. The Board of Directors is chaired by Patrice Carayon, Ghislaine Leleu, Nicolas Dufourt, Bruno Erhard, Jérome Darribere, Philippe Lamoureux, Pascal Lefrançois, Sébastien Michel, Frédérique Saas, Vanina Laurent-Ledru, Adèle Depoux, Cécilia de Foucaucourt, Sylvain Bouton, Luc Besançon, Valérie Leto, Marie-Claude Cambus and Sonia Braham Mtir,.