Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect over one billion people worldwide. This group of viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases can be found in 149 countries – that’s 76 percent of countries in the world – and most often affects impoverished populations, who lack access to clean water or sanitation and live in close contact with infectious vectors. The effects of NTDs on communities can be devastating – keeping children out of school and preventing adults from going to work or caring for themselves or their families.
In today’s increasingly complex world, businesses – and the visionary leaders behind them – are playing an important role in catalyzing the new, innovative and inclusive approaches needed to solve pressing global challenges and create more equitable, just and healthy communities.
Pfizer has long been a partner in the global effort to eliminate trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, through its donation of an oral antibiotic that can help treat and prevent the debilitating disease. Now, Pfizer has announced that it will extend its donation of the antibiotic through 2025, building on the company’s 20-year support of a partnership to eliminate this disease.
The Pfizer Foundation* recently announced a $5 million grant recommitment to initiatives that provide family planning access and education for women and men at the same time children are routinely vaccinated.
By increasing access to these integrated services, we’re helping women access reproductive and sexual health services at the same time their children are vaccinated – and in turn, supporting efforts to improve the health of women and their families by:
When Dr. Charles A. Knirsch, MD, MPH, joined Pfizer more than 20 years ago, planning had just begun for a new partnership to eliminate trachoma, a neglected tropical disease and the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.
To Achieve ‘Health For All,’ Everyone Needs a Seat at the Table
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Achieving universal health coverage is target 3.8 of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3—to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” More than this, providing universal health coverage, which includes access to high quality, affordable health services and essential medicines, is necessary to achieve all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The New England Journal of Medicine has published results from a new study showing that the use of an antibiotic significantly reduced mortality among children living in three low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
At Pfizer, we believe that all individuals deserve access to quality healthcare and the opportunity to lead healthy lives. As part of its efforts to support sustainable solutions to improving access to quality healthcare around the world, the Pfizer Foundation provides grant funding and technical support to health-focused entrepreneurs and social enterprises through the Global Health Innovation Grants (GHIG) program.
