Donations of Medicines Eligibility Program

*Information contained on this website may be updated at any time. If you have any questions about this information, please contact us.

The 2007 federal budget announced a new tax incentive for corporations that donate medicines to Canadian registered charities for use outside of Canada. This effort builds on Canada's strong tradition of working in partnership with Canadian public and private sector partners to bring the best of what Canada has to offer in supporting developing countries' efforts to meet the health needs of their population.

The incentive allows for donations of medicines to be made to Canadian charities found eligible by the Minister of International Cooperation. The Minister will grant eligibility to registered charities that can demonstrate that they respect and adhere to international guidelines, policies, and principles with regard to international development and humanitarian assistance, particularly in the context of the delivery of medicines to the developing world. In particular, the Minister will assess whether the Canadian charities seeking eligibility:

• act in a manner consistent with the principles and objectives of the interagency Guidelines for Drug Donations (PDF) issued by the World Health Organization (WHO);
• demonstrate appropriate expertise in delivering medical donations to the developing world; and
• have implemented appropriate policies and practices with respect to the delivery of international development and humanitarian assistance.

The aim of this program is to ensure that donations of medicines to developing countries are appropriate, demand-driven (in other words, the receiving country needs and has asked for the drugs) and based on clear evidence of need within the population. Through this review of the policies, practices, and procedures of registered charities wishing to apply for eligibility, CIDA will help to ensure that medicines being distributed in developing countries are safe, effective, and useful.

Eligible Charities

If you have questions about eligible charities please contact us.

History of Program

The Donations of Medicines Eligibility Program began accepting applications from registered charities for the first time on July 1, 2008.

The regulations related to this program received Royal Assent on March 12, 2009.

For more information on the regulations, please visit the Tax Incentive page.

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PDF Format

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Guidelines for Drug Donations (PDF - 72 KB, 24 pages)