Pfizer and The Pfizer Foundation Award Multi-Year Grants to Support Cancer and Tobacco Control around the World

20/02/2008 - 10:05

Pfizer Partners with 15 NGOs to Build Tobacco Control Capacity and Improve Cancer Care and Prevention

The Pfizer Foundation announced today a groundbreaking $33 million
multi-year program to address the emerging challenges in cancer and
tobacco control. The first round of the Global Health Partnerships
grants has already been awarded to 15 non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in 26 countries around the world - from Algeria, China and
Japan to Italy, Brazil and Argentina. The program reflects both the
Pfizer Foundation and Pfizer´s global commitment to working with a
diverse group of local NGO experts towards improving the diagnosis and
treatment of cancer and reducing the disease´s incidence and burden.

Cancer accounts for one in eight deaths globally- more than AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria combined. In the 20th century, the tobacco
epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide. According to the World
Health Organization´s (WHO) 2008 report the global tobacco epidemic,
by 2030, there will be more than 8 million deaths every year unless
urgent action is taken. An estimated 80 percent of these deaths will
occur in developing countries, which are least prepared to address
their growing cancer burdens. That is why The Pfizer Foundation Global
Health Partnerships: Advancing Cancer and Tobacco Control is
supporting innovative public health programs together with Pfizer Inc
offices in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the United States.
Jointly funded by the Pfizer Foundation and Pfizer Inc, the initial
grants will help cancer and tobacco control organizations build their
capacity through training and technical assistance, establish national
cancer control plans and improve patient services.

"The Pfizer Foundation has a solid history as a pioneer in helping
advance effective programs to improve health care delivery and disease
prevention," said Robert Mallett, president of the Pfizer Foundation.
"Cancer has no boundaries; it is only through continuous investments
in research for new treatments and medicines that we can overcome this
global health crisis. This program can help us have a measurable
impact in advancing cancer and tobacco control efforts around the
world."

For the past five years, the Foundation has been supporting the
American Cancer Society´s programs in Latin America and China to
provide training in patient advocacy, research, needs assessments and
strengthen grassroots efforts around tobacco control. These programs
are already making important gains in building the capacity of local
cancer and tobacco control organizations.

"Many regions of the developing world are experiencing an
epidemiological transition, and the American Cancer Society is
well-positioned to foster the growth of the cancer NGO movement in
critical markets like Latin America, Africa and Asia where intervening
now with cancer prevention and control strategies will save lives and
end suffering," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer
Society. "These Pfizer Foundation grants enable us to build cancer
control capacity in parts of the world that are most vulnerable to the
growing global cancer burden and to advance our mission of saving
lives and ending suffering from this disease for all people across the
world.

The grants will also improve information sharing among cancer and
tobacco control leaders and help develop targeted interventions and
education campaigns.

"The most effective approach to controlling cancer is to prevent
it from occurring in the first place. By applying evidence-based
research, it is possible to prevent about 40 percent of the more than
11 million cancer cases that occur each year throughout the world,"
said Dr. Franco Cavalli, president of the International Union Against
Cancer (UICC). "Through these Pfizer Foundation grants, healthcare
providers will be able to better measure knowledge and attitudes
around cancer risks and develop public health programs to strengthen
risk-reduction behaviors."

In keeping with the Foundation´s rigorous evaluation standards,
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health has been
selected to evaluate the Global Health Partnerships program.

"Measurement is an essential component of any effective grant
process," said Dean Michael Klag, MD, MPH of Johns Hopkins University
Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Assessing the effectiveness of the
programs over time against definitive and measurable goals will allow
Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Foundation and its partners to measure the
overall impact on various communities and cancer patients around the
world."

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Full List of Programs and Grants By Country/Region
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Countries Respective Programs/Partners
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Asia
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
China China Tobacco Control Association and
Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease
Control and Prevention
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Korea Korean National Council of Women
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Japan Akebono-Kai and Japan Dental-Medical
Association for Tobacco Council
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and American Cancer Society
Thailand
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Philippines Philippine Business for Social
Progress and American Cancer Society
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Africa/Middle East
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia American Cancer Society
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi
Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab
Emirates
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Europe
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Pan-Europe International Union Against Cancer
(UICC)
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Central and Eastern Europe QUIT UK
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Belgium European Organization for Research and
Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Italy The Veronesi Foundation
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Turkey The New Hope in Health Foundation
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Latin America
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, American Cancer Society
Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Mexico Mexican Council on Tobacco
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
United States
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
United States Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care
and Prevention
------------------------------- --------------------------------------
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For more information, visit www.pfizer.com/responsibility

About the Pfizer Foundation:

The Pfizer Foundation is a charitable organization established by
Pfizer Inc. The Foundation is a separate and independent tax-exempt
organization. The Foundation´s mission is "to promote access to
quality health care and education, to nurture innovation, and to
support the community involvement of Pfizer people."

About Pfizer:

Founded in 1849, Pfizer is the world´s largest research-based
pharmaceutical company taking new approaches to better health. The
company discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers quality, safe
and effective prescription medicines to treat and help prevent disease
for both people and animals. Pfizer partners with health care
providers, governments and local communities around the world to
expand access to medicines and to provide better quality health care
and health system support. At Pfizer, nearly 90,000 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. The company´s overarching purpose is to work
together for a healthier world.