The ICA welcomes two new members this month.
Bidafarma S. Coop. and. Es, which joins as a member, is a first-degree cooperative, formed in Spain by pharmacists with pharmacies open throughout the country.
Its mission is to purchase, store and deliver medicines, healthcare products and parapharmacy items to its cooperatives through a solidarity-based distribution model.
This model allows members to access more than 40,000 product references that are delivered at least twice a day to their pharmacies. Through this solidarity-based distribution system the cooperative guarantees equity and access to medicines for patients under the same conditions of service, regardless of their geographical location.
In addition to the pure distribution service, the cooperative offers its members a wide variety of services that help pharmacists in their daily work in the pharmacy, whether from a management or health perspective.
It has 8,900 member pharmacies and a gross income of €3m.
The Institute of Cooperativism of the University of Puerto Rico, which joins as an associate member, is a permanent centre for cooperative education.
Its mission is to provide cooperative education and services, so it can promote fair and equitable socioeconomic development in the country.
The institute works to develop and research the creation of cooperatives or community-based organizations that practice the values of the cooperative movement and the solidarity economy.
With six employees, it offers services to the university community, to the cooperative movement and to the community in general through academic, extension and cooperative research and development programs.
It was previously a member from 1997 to 2004.
With the new additions, the ICA now has 321 member organisations from 106 countries, of which 277 are full members and 42 are associate members.
