Pfizer is one of the most predominant pharmaceutical companies in the world. Each and every day they researching and trying to find treatments for a number of diseases that are out there in the world. Pfizer does a lot to give back to the community. On Pfizer’s website under the responsibility’s page, they explain different types of organizations that they have either started or help out with. It does not seem that they just focus on one single thing, they actually focus on a lot of different organizations that all have to do with people’s health around the world.
The first bit of information that the website gives is Global Health Problems. Pfizer explains that they are constantly focusing on providing people all over the world information about different medicines as well as to strengthen health care to a great number of people around the world. On the global health page , you will see a map that has all Pfizer flags scattered around in all different colors. Each colored flag stands for something else. For example the darker blue flags explain what Pfizer is doing to help countries understand treatments and how to prevent diseases like HIV. The light green flag explains how Pfizer has provided a great amount of money to assist people in different countries that have suffered great disasters. For example in Haiti, Pfizer donated $5 million in cash to help the people of this country that were affected by the 2010 earthquake. By looking at this map, it can show you just how much Pfizer is doing to help everyone in the world in all of these different cultures and countries.
Global Health Fellows Program- Pfizer has their own organization called the Global Health Fellows Program (GHF). This is a corporate volunteer program where Pfizer’s colleagues can form teams and complete short term assignments around the world in key markets. The volunteers that participate in this organization are called Fellows. During their assignments, they use their professional expertise in ways to promote access, quality and efficiency of health services to people who really need them. This program has been going on since 2003 and Pfizer has had over 300 employees participate in this program working in about 45 different countries.
International Trachoma Initiative- this is probably one of Pfizer’s biggest community relations organization because about 41 million people, mostly women and children, suffer from this disease yearly. Trachoma is in about 57 different countries, mostly in Africa and Asia because they do not have the treatments that we have for the disease. In order to help prevent this disease, Pfizer has partnered up with the World Health Organization’s, Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by the year 2020 (GET2020) and the international Trachoma Initiative. So this is what all of these organization’s are doing together but as for Pfizer themselves, they want to provide Zithromax to the people that need it. By doing this, it is their effort to eliminate Trachoma by 2020. Up until now, Pfizer has donated 225 million prescriptions of Zithromax treatments to about 19 different countries. This picture shows the top targeted areas to provide this medication with.
Malaria Efforts- another extremely important program that Pfizer is involved with trying provide treatments for malaria in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Pfizer’s website states that every 30 seconds an African child dies from this horrible disease. This program has four core element which are manufacturing and delivering effective anti-malaria treatments in Africa, investing in R&D to develop urgently needed medicines and also engaging and educating treatment providers and patients to improve the prompt and effective treatment for malaria. With all of these steps, Pfizer is closer and closer in helping the prevention of this deadly disease.
· Improve malaria symptom recognition, treatment, and referral through targeted training activities
· Support complementary community mobilization campaigns to strengthen the demand for prompt and effective malaria treatment
The MAM Program in Ghana works with communities in the Ashanti Region to improve recognition and treatment of malaria. Photo credit: Mark Tushman
Global Health Partnerships- Pfizer has come up with this organization in order to help promote cancer and tobacco control organizations so that we can all fight against cancer. The page on Pfizer’s website gives a breakdown of what just exactly this program does. It gives the goal, the targeted areas, when the program started, Pfizer’s commitment and the partners that are involved. By breaking it down this way, it is easy to see just exactly where Pfizer is doing the work to push this program.
Diflucan Partnership- this is another very important program because it shows Pfizer’s commitment towards preventing HIV infection or AIDS. On Pfizer’s website they give a very informative video about the people that suffer from these horrible fungal diseases. Pfizer will provide Diflucan (fluconazole) for the treatment to two infections that are associated with HIV and AIDS. This treatment is given to countries free of charge where HIV and AIDS is more than 1% prevalence. Today, this program is active in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Pfizer’s mission is to be “committed to applying science and our global resources to improve health and well-being at every stage of life. We strive to provide access to safe, effective and affordable medicines and related health care services to the people who need them.” I feel that Pfizer definitely lives up to their mission statement because they are doing everything that they can in order to help cure the diseases that people are suffering from around the world and also trying to prevent diseases from affecting more people than it already affects. Pfizer has used their research in order to fix and prevent these problems. It is easily seen that they really are living up to their mission and doing whatever it takes to save people all around the world.
I think that everything that Pfizer does is great for their public relations. Yes they have had some problems in the past but every company has these problems. If they keep following their mission and their vision than they would be able to prevent future problems from happening and they will also be able to continually look for ways to prevent and overcome different diseases around the world.
I think one thing that Pfizer could definitely do better is to place more things on their website about what they do specifically in each community. For example, when they go to these other countries to help prevent the diseases and to give the treatments, I think that they should take pictures and videos of the doctors interacting with the patients. By doing this, consumers can watch exactly what Pfizer is doing to help these underprivileged people and maybe want more information on a way that they can help. Even when Pfizer does stuff for people in our country, I really think that they should show real live footage of what is going on.
