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47milliondollars invested in
innovative regional and
global cancer and tobacco control programs
Investments in Health
We invest the full range of our resources—people, products, expertise and funding—to improve global health. Our philanthropic global health platform, Pfizer Investments in Health, offers a strategic, coordinated approach to improve access to medicines and health care for underserved patients around the world.
Our social investments are done in partnerships with national governments, international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, multilateral organizations and/or academic institutions. Through targeted strategies, we invest in effective and sustainable health care delivery while empowering our colleagues, strengthening our stakeholder relationships, and ultimately having a positive impact on society and our business.
To learn more about our programs please see Pfizer Investments in Health
Pfizer Helpful Answers®
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pfizer Helpful Answers (PHA) is a family of assistance programs for the uninsured and underinsured who need help getting Pfizer medicines. These programs provide Pfizer medicines for free or at a savings to patients who qualify. Some programs also offer reimbursement support services for people with insurance. | PHA partners with numerous community groups and patient advocate groups to help spread the word about available help. Partners include the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the National Urban League, the National Association of Community Health Centers, the Men's Health Network and the Hispanic Federation. | In the past five years (2005–2009), PHA has helped nearly 6 million uninsured and underinsured patients get access to more than 48 million Pfizer prescriptions for free or at a savings.*
*2009 includes data for products acquired through the integration of Pfizer and Wyeth. |
Continue to help patients in need get access to Pfizer medicines. Assess and evaluate PHA's family of patient assistance programs to ensure they are meeting the changing needs of patients. |
Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) (2004)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center of Excellence for prevention, treatment, training and research in Uganda that strengthens regional capacity in HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis | Makerere University, the Academic Alliance and Accordia Global Health Foundation, the Ugandan Ministry of Health and Mulago Hospital, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America | Since 2004 nearly 5,000 health care workers from 27 countries have received training in HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and related infectious disease. They indicate they train, on average, 20 additional health care workers per month. IDI provides ongoing care and treatment to approximately 31,000 patients. IDI has an award-winning laboratory, one of very few College of American Pathologists accredited research facilities in Africa, that enables it to conduct the majority of its research projects onsite. | Build capacity of health systems in Africa for the delivery of sustainable, high-quality care and prevention of HIV/AIDS and related infectious diseases through training, research and advanced clinical services. |
Diflucan Partnership Program (2000)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partnerships with governments and NGOs in developing countries to donate Diflucan for two fungal opportunistic infections associated with HIV/AIDS and support training of health care providers in HIV/ AIDS care | Direct Relief International, IDA Foundation, governments and NGOs | To date, the partnership has provided over $1.2 billion in medicine to more than 2,400 sites in 63 countries. Training and educational materials have been provided to 20,000 health care professionals to help improve patient care and medicine distribution. | To provide treatment for two AIDS-related fungal infections—cryptococcal meningitis and esophageal candidiasis—through partnerships with governments and NGOs in developing countries with a greater than 1 percent prevalence of HIV/AIDS |
Global Health Fellows (2003)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volunteer program that places Pfizer colleagues in 3–6 month assignments with international development organizations designed to improve access, quality and efficiency of health care for underserved populations | Partner NGOs include: CARE; Family Health International; Galvmed, Health Volunteers Overseas, Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS, TB & Malaria; International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; Infectious Diseases Institute; IntraHealth; International Rescue Committee; mothers2mothers; Population Services International; Project Hope; Columbia University Access Project; US CDC; USAID/PEPFAR; Wateraid. | To date, over 250 Pfizer Global Health Fellows from offices around the world have worked with over 40 partner organizations in 39 countries. Assignments have included supporting supply chain management, improving health data collection for clinics and hospitals, and training clinical researchers and health workers. | Focus on strategic international public health issues, create new partnership opportunities, enhance impact evaluation and communications. |
Global Health Fellow Global Health Teams (2010)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialized volunteer program that places regional and local teams of approximately 12 Pfizer colleagues in short-term assignments with NGOs designed to build capacity and strengthen health systems | Partner NGOs include: PATH—Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas; World Bank—Water and Sanitation Program–Latin America and the Caribbean; Coprodeli; Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut (VNA); Fairview Alzheimer's Resident Care Program. | To date, two pilot Global Health Teams have worked with NGO partners in Lima, Peru, and Groton, Connecticut, on assignments focused on Alzheimer's and breast cancer patient care, sanitation system improvements and supply chain management. | To expand and diversify volunteer opportunities utilizing the professional expertise of Pfizer colleagues to achieve health impacts for underserved communities |
International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) (1998)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program to eliminate trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness, through the donation of Zithromax and an integrated public health strategy that includes training health care professionals, community health education, and water and sanitation improvements. Over the last 10 years, Pfizer has provided $5 billion of pharmaceutical and financial donations to support trachoma elimination. | Founded by Pfizer and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Partners include: The Task Force for Global Health, governments, nongovernmental organizations, corporations, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the Carter Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lions Clubs, agencies of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. | To date, Pfizer, through ITI, has provided more than 225 million treatments of Zithromax to patients in 19 countries and trained thousands of health care workers, who, in turn, have completed more than 400,000 surgeries to treat advanced cases of trachoma. In 2006 Morocco became the first country to complete the campaign for trachoma control and is now working toward WHO certification to confirm that blinding trachoma has been eliminated as a public health problem. | To leverage resources and expertise, creating new partnerships to fight trachoma and other neglected tropical diseases; build on ITI's success in promoting the SAFE strategy, a comprehensive public health approach that combines treatment with prevention, involving sight-saving surgery, mass treatment with the Pfizer-donated antibiotic, Zithromax, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement to increase access to clean water and improved sanitation |
Mobilize Against Malaria (2007)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A five-year, three-country initiative that engages and educates treatment providers and patients to improve prompt and effective treatment for malaria in Senegal, Ghana and Kenya | Evaluation team: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, Health Partners Ghana Implementation Partners: Population Services International, Family Health International/ Ghana Social Marketing Foundation, IntraHealth International | In Ghana, conducting training sessions for Licensed Chemical Sellers (LCSs) enabling more than 1,000 chemical sellers to provide better malaria education to over 20,000 people, dispense medicines according to national protocol, and refer complicated malaria cases and pregnant women to nearby health centers. A survey of LCSs trained by the program showed a measurable change in the number of LCSs recommending the malaria standard of care (14% in 2009 up to 72% in 2010). | Partners with leading NGOs to find promising interventions that improve utilization and effectiveness of malaria treatment through grants, technical assistance, evaluation support and networking resources. |
Global Health Partnerships (2007)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Global Health Partnerships (GHP) initiative is a four-year program to support innovative public health partnerships that will serve as global models in addressing emerging challenges in cancer control and tobacco control in 46 countries across five continents. The Global Health Partnerships program supports the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) movement, which focuses on heightening the awareness of NCDs, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. NCDs account for 35 million lives lost annually, or 60% of all deaths in the world. By 2020, the incidence of new cancers is expected to rise by 50% to between 15 and 16 million cases annually. A major contributor to these alarmingly high cancer rates, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, is the use of tobacco. | Pfizer's partners include: Action on Smoking and Health International, Aliança de Controle do Tabagismo (ACT)/Alliance for Control of Tobacco Use, Akebono-Kai Breast Cancer Network Japan, American Cancer Society, Cancer Foundation of China, Cause Marketing Fundraisers of South Africa, Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, Comprehensive Cancer Center at Freiburg University Medical Center, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, George Washington University Cancer Center, Good Dog Foundation, Health Policy Institute Japan, Health Promotion Foundation Poland, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Hellenic Thoracic Society, Hungarian Academy of Teaching Family Physicians, International Union Against Cancer, Irish Cancer Society, Japan Medical-Dental Association for Tobacco Council, Korean National Council of Women, Mexican Council on Tobacco, New Hope in Health. | To date, the Global Health Partnerships program has supported 31 grantees in 46 countries across five continents addressing emerging challenges in cancer and tobacco control. The GHP cancer control grantees have reached over 35 million individuals, including global cancer awareness campaigns, screenings to support early detection for over 28,000 at-risk individuals, and navigated 16,000 patients through complicated systems of cancer care. The program's tobacco control grantees have reached over 44 million individuals, helping to build tobacco control networks and alliances in nine countries, educating 155,000 health care professionals, counseling over 19,000 smokers to quit smoking, and educating the public about the harms of tobacco use and secondhand smoke. | Share promising practices of global cancer and tobacco control programs in support of the United Nation's NCD Summit in September 2011 and build program sustainability to support GHP partners beyond the GHP initiative. |
Connect HIV (2007)
| Program | Partners | Impact on Society | 2011 Program Goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program designed to complement existing HIV prevention efforts and help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by supporting integrated approaches that bring together prevention, access to care and treatment | Evaluation team: Academy for Educational Development, Johns Hopkins University. Twenty grantee partners: Black Coalition on AIDS, STOP AIDS Project, AIDS Interfaith Residential Services, Latino Commission on AIDS, BEBASHI, St. Hope Foundation, Northeast Florida AIDS Network (NFAN), New York Harm Reduction Educators, Prevention Point Philadelphia, California Prevention and Education Project, Foothill AIDS Project, Positive Impact, AIDS Care Services, Piedmont Health Care Consortium, Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, Philadelphia FIGHT, Shanti Project, Chicago House and Social Service Agency, Test Positive Aware Network, The Family Center | To date, over 6,000 individuals at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS have been reached with prevention messaging and educational programs; 573 HIV-positive individuals have learned how to prevent transmission to their partners; 262 HIV-positive individuals were guided through the process of accessing high-quality care; and over 300 HIV-positive individuals are improving their adherence to treatment. Funded programs have focused primarily on communities of color, those in economic need, recently incarcerated individuals, marginalized populations, and those in unstable employment and/or housing situations. | Share promising models and learnings with grantee partners and HIV/AIDS experts to demonstrate the effectiveness of integrated approaches. |
This program, funded by Pfizer and The Pfizer Foundation, has invested $47 million over the past four years to support innovative regional and global partnerships in oncology and tobacco control. Thirty-one grantees are having an impact on more than 46 countries in six critical cancer- and tobacco-control-issue areas:
- Improving cancer control
- Screening to save lives
- Navigating cancer patients through complicated systems of care
- Building awareness about the harm of tobacco use
- Protecting nonsmokers from secondhand smoke
- Helping smokers quit
The Pfizer Foundation provides technical assistance, capacity building and evaluation support to grantee partners while Pfizer country offices provide local resources and expertise. These partnerships will serve as global models in improving cancer-related health outcomes. One of the most important overarching goals is to foster a culture of results-oriented discovery and innovation. While partners are encouraged to innovate and test new models, they also receive technical assistance from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University to improve the execution, measurement and evaluation of their work.
The Global Health Fellows Program (GHF) is an international corporate volunteer program that places our colleagues with international development organizations designed to address global health issues and improve care for underserved populations. Since 2003, 270 Global Health Fellows have devoted over 250,000 hours of volunteer service in 39 countries. During assignments Fellows transfer their professional medical and business expertise in ways that promote access, quality and efficiency of health services.
Assignments have included supporting supply chain management, improving health data collection for clinics and hospitals, and training clinical researchers and health workers. The program focuses on creating high social impact. Over time it has also yielded demonstrable business impact as Fellows return to Pfizer with a broader world vision and renewed focus on innovative ideas for reaching underserved communities with health solutions. The program has been recognized for leadership and excellence in pro bono skills-based corporate volunteering by peer companies and by the United States Corporation for National and Community Service.
In an effort to expand and diversify our skills-based volunteer opportunities, we introduced the Global Health Teams program in 2010. This initiative builds on the GHF model, organizing regional and local volunteer teams to volunteer with NGOs on assignments designed to strengthen health services. To date, two pilot Global Health Teams have worked with NGO partners in Lima, Peru, and Groton, Connecticut, on assignments focused on Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer patient care, sanitation system improvements and supply chain management.
We are committed to helping uninsured and underinsured Americans get access to our medicines. We currently provide this assistance through Pfizer Helpful Answers—the largest and most extensive patient assistance program in the industry. With just one call to our toll free number or a visit to our Web site (www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com), patients or their advocates will be directed to the Pfizer Helpful Answers program that might best meet their needs. Also, if we learn that patients are taking a medicine not made by Pfizer, we will refer them to other industry resources that might be able to help. In the last five years alone (2005–2009), Pfizer has helped nearly 6 million uninsured and underinsured patients get access to more than 48 million Pfizer prescriptions for free or at a savings.*
* 2009 includes data for products acquired through the integration of Pfizer and Wyeth.
Pfizer Helpful Answers is a joint program of Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Patient Assistance Foundation.™
