(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) announced today that Pfizer Inc will sponsor the 7^th Biennial U.S. – Africa Business Summit: Realizing the Investment Power of Africa, to be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., September 29 – October 1, 2009.

At a Pfizer-sponsored workshop titled Mobilizing Resources for Strengthening African Health Systems: A Case Study of Pfizer’s Global Health Fellows, Charles Shafran, former Pfizer global health fellow, will provide analysis of the obstacles that face Africa’s health sector. He will be joined by Gregory J. Hills, managing director of FSG Social Impact Advisors; Mary Jordan, senior technical advisor on public-private partnerships of USAID; Robin Smalley, international director and co-founder of Mothers2Mothers; and Mark Chiaviello, director of corporate and investment banking of Standard Bank. The discussion will be moderated by Caroline Roan, Pfizer’s vice president of corporate responsibility.

“We are pleased to welcome CCA member Pfizer as a sponsor of the summit,” said Stephen Hayes, president and CEO of CCA. “Pfizer’s Global Health Fellows program is an exceptional example of how successful partnerships in Africa teach and sustain the communities they serve.”

Since 2003, over 200 Pfizer professionals have volunteered to work with non-profit and government healthcare providers though Pfizer’s Global Health Fellows program to help support and grow national healthcare infrastructure, mainly in developing countries. Both CCA members Africare and the African Medical & Research Foundation have partnered with Pfizer professionals to share knowledge and expertise; The Pfizer Global Health Fellows program will be a highlight at this year’s U.S. - Africa Business Summit.

The three-day summit is expected to attract more than 2,000 leaders from the private and public sectors in the U.S. and Africa. Participants will have the opportunity to network with key African and U.S. private sector and government representatives and attend more than 60 industry-specific sessions and workshops. Through an electronic matchmaking program, summit registrants may schedule meetings with Pfizer by registering at: http://meetings.pgcedc.com/register.html. Registrants may also schedule meetings with companies from other sectors including agribusiness, financial services, infrastructure, natural resources, development, and tourism.

For more information on and to register for the 7^th Biennial U.S. – Africa Business Summit, visit: www.africacncl.org. All working media must be credentialed to cover the summit. Please open the following link: 09 Summit Media Credential Form and submit media form to: [email protected].

Pfizer joins Chevron; Exxon Mobil; Lockheed Martin; Fleishman-Hillard; Novus International; Marathon Oil Company; Northrop Grumman; South African Airways; USAID; AECOM; Colgate Palmolive; Hess Corporation; allAfrica.com; Jeune Afrique; Abbott Fund; The Africa Report; Acrow Bridges; Raytheon; SOC; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; JR Boulle Corporations; Merck & Co. Inc; Oceanic Bank; PriceWaterhouseCoopers; SEACOM; Tetra Tech; Africa Export-Import Bank; American Cancer Society; Boeing Company; CCA HIV/AIDS Initiative; Emerging Capitals Partners; Development Finance International; Gauteng Province; L-1 Identity Solutions; Millennium Challenge Corporation; Mars, Inc.; MITC Investimentos; EMEA Finance; New Africa U.K. Ltd.; Spintellingent; and Buchanan Renewables, as sponsors of the summit.

Pfizer Inc: Working together for a healthier world™

Founded in 1849, Pfizer is the world's premier biopharmaceutical company taking new approaches to better health. We discover, develop, manufacture and deliver quality, safe and effective prescription medicines to treat and help prevent disease for both people and animals. We also partner with healthcare providers, governments and local communities around the world to expand access to our medicines and to provide better quality health care and health system support. At Pfizer, colleagues in more than 90 countries work every day to help people stay happier and healthier longer and to reduce the human and economic burden of disease worldwide.

About The Corporate Council on Africa

Established in 1993, The Corporate Council on Africa is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of nearly 180 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. The organization is dedicated to bringing together potential business partners and to showcase business opportunities on the continent.