Ayala Group, USAID team up to boost HIV care

AC Health, USAID partnership

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group has partnered with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to boost the private sector’s human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) health-care services as the number of affected patients in the country steadily increases.

Through this collaboration, Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc. (AC Health) on Wednesday said it would onboard qualified health service providers via its KonsultaMD platform.

The company will likewise import medicine and related technology through IE Medica and MedEthix, AC Health’s pharmaceutical importation and distribution units. In turn, these will be made commercially available through the Generika Drugstore network.

USAID, meanwhile, will provide support for community engagement, as well as technical assistance to AC Health’s Healthway Medical Network, and introduce private sector models for HIV service delivery, the Zobel family-led firm said.

“Through our partnership with USAID, our dedicated teams at Healthway Medical Network, KonsultaMD and Generika Drugstore have been equipped with specialized training to serve key populations affected by HIV,” AC Health chair Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement.

200,000 mark

The Department of Health reported earlier this week that HIV cases in the country may exceed the 200,000 mark by the end of the year.

Data from the HIV & AIDS and Antiretroviral Therapy Registry of the Philippines show that as of early this year, there had been at least 129,772 cases of HIV since it was first detected in the country in 1984.

“This collaboration brings us closer to bridging gaps in HIV prevention and testing, ensuring these critical services reach more communities nationwide,” Zobel said.

Last year, AC Health also partnered with Publicis Groupe Philippines and the People Management Association of the Philippines to raise awareness and support for cancer patients in the workplace.

The company is likewise expanding its medicine production capacity.

Last October, IE Medica broke ground for a new warehouse in Cavite province that is set to be fully operational by 2026.

Once completed, the facility will expand IE Medica’s inventory and streamline the product distribution process.

AC Health acquired a minority stake in the company in 2019 to give its health-care services a boost, particularly by directly providing products for the Generika Pharmacy network.

Last August, AC Health completed its acquisition of a 49-percent stake in legacy drugstore brand St. Joseph Drug following the Philippine Competition Commission’s approval.

The acquisition will add 112 St. Joseph stores to AC Health’s drugstore network from 750 stores currently. The company plans to grow this to 1,000 stores in three years.

Borromeo previously said they wanted to further expand St. Joseph’s footprint in Northern Luzon before gradually moving closer to Metro Manila by opening more stores in neighboring Central Luzon. —Meg J. Adonis