Published 11-10-06
Submitted by Pfizer, Inc.
"Pfizer has been one of the IRC's most generous and reliable corporate supporters," said John C. Whitehead, Chairman Emeritus of the IRC. "In one global emergency after another, Pfizer's contributions have helped save countless lives. We are grateful to them."
"The IRC has a long history and tremendous reputation for its capacity to respond to humanitarian crises and deploy needed aid to those who are suffering," said Robert Mallett President of the Pfizer Foundation and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Stakeholder Alliances, Philanthropy and Corporate Citizenship. "We are pleased to receive this award and the fifty years of partnership with the IRC."
Pfizer's partnership with IRC began in 1956 by providing emergency medicines and health products to refugees in Hungary. From the public health challenges of a community torn by civil conflict to the tsunami that struck South East Asia, Pfizer has partnered with the IRC to mobilize resources that provided immediate humanitarian relief and supported rebuilding efforts.
Today, the company and IRC collaborate on efforts to build healthcare capacity and improve healthcare delivery to patients in Africa and Asia through Pfizer's Global Health Fellows program. The Global Health Fellows program sends Pfizer colleagues to work with non-governmental organizations and other partners on public health assignments in developing countries. Global Health Fellows have been placed by the IRC at the Mae Tao Clinic in Thailand and at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.
Pfizer Partnership Initiatives:
Global Health Fellows - The program sends Pfizer colleagues on assignments to work with non-governmental and multi-lateral organizations addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria.
Infectious Diseases Institute - Pfizer partners with the Academic Alliance Foundation, Makerere University, Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and other organizations to support training and treatment activities of the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) in Kampala, Uganda. This regional training and treatment center is empowering the local healthcare providers to care for a population desperately in need of HIV/AIDS treatment and to train others.
Diflucan Partnership Program - Diflucan® (fluconazole), an antifungal that treats two fungal opportunistic infections associated with AIDS, is provided free of charge to governmental and non-governmental organizations in developing countries.
International Trachoma Initiative - A public-private partnership dedicated to eliminating trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness, through health worker training, patient education and donations of the antibiotic, Zithromax® (azithromycin).
Founded in 1849, Pfizer is the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company taking new approaches to better health. We discover and develop innovative medicines to treat and help prevent disease for both people and animals. Through consistent, high-quality manufacturing and distribution operations, our medicines reach patients in 180 nations. We also partner with healthcare providers, governments and local communities around the world to expand access to our medicines and to provide better quality healthcare and health system support. At Pfizer, our colleagues work every day to help people stay happier and healthier longer and to reduce the human and economic burden of disease worldwide.
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