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Multicultural Health Equity Collective

Multicultural Health Equity Collective

The Collective 10 Year Anniversary banner

Established in 2014, The Pfizer Multicultural Health Equity Collective (The Collective) is a cooperative of Pfizer colleagues and 40+ nonprofit partners and advocates across the United States who are working together to improve the health of historically marginalized and underserved communities by addressing drivers of inequitable health outcomes, including systemic racism.

Ten years ago, The Collective was created to address significant health disparities and demonstrate behaviors that earn trust. Since then, The Collective has supported hundreds of partner events—reaching 1.5M people across the U.S.—and established its own signature Health Equity in Action Summit and Communities in Action for Health Equity grant program. Through relationships with multicultural organizations working to disrupt systemic drivers of health inequity, The Collective seeks to create sustained impact now, and far into the future.

Pfizer Multicultural Advisory Council

The Collective’s work is guided by the Pfizer Multicultural Advisory Council (PMAC). The PMAC includes leaders from partner organizations who help inform The Collective’s priorities, engage with Pfizer on vital health and policy issues, and provide counsel on specific Pfizer initiatives.

Our Focus Areas

To improve health outcomes and make lasting progress toward health equity, it is critical that historically marginalized and underserved communities—and those chosen to represent them—lead the creation of solutions. The Collective works alongside partners who have deep understanding of the evolving community needs and aims to disrupt the drivers of healthcare inequities by focusing on four key impact areas:

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HEALTHCARE FACILITIES & DELIVERY

Helping to build community-centered healthcare delivery systems.

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RESEARCH & DATA

Addressing racial biases embedded into algorithms and misrepresenting the health needs of underrepresented populations.

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WORKFORCE PATHWAYS

Fostering young talent and early education systems to create a pipeline for a more diverse and representative health workforce.

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POLICY

Advancing local, state, and federal policies addressing systemic racism in healthcare.

Initiatives

Explore how The Collective is partnering to advance health equity.

The Collective has partnered with a working group of more than 30 individuals to co-author ‘An Action Guide to Disrupt Inequitable Health Outcomes’ highlighting actionable solutions to disrupt drivers of health inequities across four key areas – Healthcare Facilities & Delivery, Research & Data, Workforce Pathways, and Policy.
Access the Action Guide
(Photo Credit: 100 Black Men of America)
Since 2014, The Collective partners have hosted 600+ community health engagement and outreach events, reaching 1.5 million people across the United States.
Learn more in the latest edition of Aviso, a publication that features the work of The Collective partners.
(Photo Credit: American Academy of Physician Associates)
The Collective and Institute of Translational Equitable Medicine (ITEM) together launched the Communities in Action for Health Equity grants program to support innovative, community-engaged research, learning and intervention projects that address systemic drivers of health inequity. Building on The Collective’s long-term strategy, Pfizer awarded a total of $2M to 11 U.S. nonprofit organizations working across healthcare facilities and delivery, research and data, workforce pathways, and policy.
The grantees include: American Academy of Physician Associates, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, BLKHLTH, Día de la Mujer Latina, Essie B. & William Earl Glenn Foundation for Better Living, Health Care Improvement Foundation, Henry Ford Health, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Genomic Medicine, National Council of Urban Indian Health, The Century Foundation, and WNC Health Network.
Learn more about the grantees here.
In 2020, The Collective partners helped inform and conduct community engagement in support of COVID-19 clinical trial diversity. Their participation helped to build trust and raise awareness among historically underrepresented communities in clinical trials through the development of culturally relevant education materials and grassroot efforts, which have also informed ongoing clinical trial diversity efforts.
Read more about this collaboration in The Collective Equity in Action: The Impact of Community Engagement on Diversity in a COVID-19 Clinical Trial White Paper.
In 2024, The Collective co-convened its second Health Equity in Action Summit alongside Morehouse School of Medicine, National Association of County and City Health Officials, the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, and The Century Foundation. The two-day, hybrid event held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, brought together cross-sector health equity leaders to discuss community-led, sustainable solutions to help advance health equity, including a day focused on supporting rising leaders in healthcare to explore careers in healthcare and connect with mentors.
Read more about the summit.