Introduction: Inappropriate medicine donations during health emergencies remain a global challenge, particularly for resource-limited nations. Despite its prevalence, little research has explored this issue from an interdisciplinary or systems perspective. Understanding the motivations, effects, and outcomes of these donations is essential for developing strategies to mitigate negative consequences and build local capacity. A deeper understanding of the complexity and interconnectedness of the problem is necessary before solutions can be proposed. Methods: This study explores the stakeholders involved and the complexity of their relationships regarding medicine donations in response to health emergencies for resource-limited countries. It aims to identify, characterize, and map key stakeholders involved in the donation process—including governments, organizations, charities, pharmaceutical companies, and community organizations—across six countries: Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. Results: The study follows a three-step stakeholder analysis framework. First, stakeholders will be identified using a snowball sampling method, leveraging partner organizations to ensure diverse perspectives. Second, an online questionnaire will assess each stakeholder’s influence, attitudes, interests, capacity to contribute, and perceived barriers to participation in the medicine donation process. The questionnaire will also evaluate their desired level of involvement and identify other key players within the donation process. Third, stakeholders’ attributes will be mapped in a matrix, categorizing them by their levels of influence and interest. Stakeholder relationships (i.e., level of collaboration) will be analyzed using social network analysis (SNA). Conclusion: This analysis will provide insights into the key actors and dynamics in medicine donation, offering a foundation for future studies aiming to investigate and curb inappropriate donations in future health emergencies.
B. et al. (Sun,) studied this question.