Pfizers miljö- och ansvarsblogg

Pfizer philanthropic initiatives - reflections from Uganda

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I have been at the Pfizer office in Zurich in Switzerland today at a meeting with Pfizer’s Medical Directors from “small and middle sized markets”, one of these markets being Sweden. I had been invited to give a presentation of my reflections from my trip to Uganda in October. You can read about the trip on the blog posts from October 18, October 19, October 20, October 21, and October 24.

Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala

As you know if you followed my blog during my visit to Uganda, I was very touched by the meetings with all the people we met - their energy and their positive attitudes, although their living environments, and their health situations, are so much different from our…

A house in the Kampala slum

We met positivism and and so much energy wherever we came.

Smiling kids

If you want to have more details on Pfizer’s different philanthropic initiatives please read more on Pfizer’s global web page. I hope I managed to share some of my feelings and my pride of what we are doing in Uganda and others countries to the Medical Directors. These programs are a very important part of our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.

What is a flat tyre…

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I have now been back in Sweden for two days. My mind is still filled with emotions from the Uganda trip, I and am sure it will be like that for a very long time. And actually I hope it will never go back to “normal situation”. Because, how could it. Let me exemplify with the matter that when I arrived home late on Friday night, I found my car with a flat tyre. I got very irritated and somewhat frustrated at first - but then realizing that my flat tyre problem is nothing to complain to much about compared with the challenges that the people I met in Uganda face every single day…

Homes in Kampala

The areas we visited, where the so called friends of the Infectious Diseases Institute lived their lifes, were far from the orginized living I have back home…

Family outside their home

But although they meet tough challenges, I have rarely met so energetic and happy people!

Happy faces...

So, what is actually my flat tyre to worry about? Actually it is already fixed, so it is not even any longer anything to talk about… No, let’s instead focus the energy to further develop and discuss the opportunities we have to make a real difference.

Infectious Diseases Institute

Let’s get inspired by initiatives such as the Infectious Diseases Institute where we in collaboration with our partners every day help people suffering from HIV/AIDS by giving them treatment and where we build capacity through training programs for physicians and nurses.

Doctor and patient

And let’s be optimistic by the International Trachoma Initiative with the clear aim of eliminating trachoma in this world by 2020.

Receiving the medicine

And let’s use an initiative such as the Diflucan Partnership Program as an example what the industry can committ to in order to help people in great need: Pharmaceutical donations “as long as they are needed” to fight fungal opportunistic infections associated with AIDS.

Doctor with patient

Let me once again finish a blog post with the following words (the same ones I used this Thursday):

After the trip to Uganda I am filled with “both fear, happiness, anxiety and great hope!” And that is something you can never get from a flat tyre…

A day with the Diflucan Partnership Program

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Today has been my last day here in Uganda experiencing the Pfizer philanthropic global programs that are part of the platform Pfizer Investments in Health.

Today the Pfizer press visit in Uganda has been focused on the Diflucan Partnership Program. Diflucan is a drug that treats fungal opportunistic infections associated with AIDS. Pfizer has promised that it will provide the medicine indefinitely through a donation program “as long as it is needed”. Since the year 2000 Pfizer has provided the medicine to a value of 1.2 billion US-dollars to 63 countries around the globe. One of these countries is Uganda, where the program was launched 2002.

In addition to the needed pharmaceutical, the program also aims for capacity building and health-care infrastructural support. To see the program work in real life we spend large part of the day at the Mengo Hospital in Kampala. We were welcomed to the hospital by the hospital management team.

Welcome to the hospital

After a short presentation of the hospital we walk over to the HIV/AIDS-centre. We were welcomed to talk to the patients that are taking part of the program. Once again, as during my previous days here in Uganda, I was deeply touched. The patients talked openly about their lifes and their situations, and the help they receive at the clinic. Help, support and the medications needed to live their lifes as good as possible.

We met with patients that could suffer from both HIV/AIDS and TB. Unfortunately a very common combination. The hospital professionals showed us around in the clinic - the reception area, the investigation rooms, the rooms where patients met with the doctors, and the pharmacy.

Investigation ongoing

I cannot really describe the experiences I have had during these days. It has been extremely strong feelings in the meetings and the discussions with patients. Some of the patients being severely ill in AIDS, but still with an incredible energy and willingness to fight on. I can only praise their fantastic attitudes and hope that the programs Pfizer and other organizations have put in place help these people in the fight towards the virus and bacteria…

As I was told before leaving for Uganda - “it will be a life changing experience”. I can only agree. I will never ever see life the same way again. These meetings have filled me with both fear, happiness, anxiety and great hope!

A day with the International Trachoma Initiative

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I guess you noticed that I was deeply touched by the visit to the Infectious Diseases Institute  (IDI)yesterday, and to the IDI-friend Rachel’s home. And as touched, and once again proud of the difference Pfizer’s philanthropic programs are doing, am I today after a full day of experiences together with the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI).

The ITI is one of Pfizer’s 6 core global health programs which are designed to increase peoples access to medicine and help building capacity for well-functioning health care around the globe. The cash and product donations for the programs total 2.4 billion US-dollars, of which the ITI was supported with almost 1 billion US-dollars by Pfizer during 2009. The goal of the program is to eliminate trachoma, the leading cause of preventable blindness, by 2020. Pfizer’s main contribution to the program is to provide the needed antibiotic pharmaceutical. Throughout the years of the program Pfizer has donated rougly 225 million treatments… The ITI-organization manages the supply of the medicine, and it was a great pleasure to listen to Elizabeth Kurylo (”Beth”) from ITI when she described the scope of the initiative.

Beth presents ITI

Beth told us that trachoma is endemic in 57 countries. One of those countries is Uganda. There is roughly 1.2 billion people living in countries where trachoma is endemic, and the cost to society, primarily through loss of productivity, is estimated to 2.9 billion US-dollars.

But trachoma can be prevented! And it was such an interesting day to follow Beth and Dr Stanley Bubikire, who runs the trachoma program at the Ugandan Ministry of Health, when they showed the steps that need to be taken.

It can briefly be summarized by the SAFE strategy:

- S is for surgery of people of immidiate risk for blindness

- A is for antibiotics to treat and prevent trachoma

- F is for facial cleanliness and improved hygiene, and

- E is for environmental improvements, especially access to clean water and latrines.

And you who have followed my blog for some time know that Access to Clean Water is something that I have very strong feelings about. To me, lack of access to clean water is one of the biggest threats to public health. And I have to say that the lack of clean water is something that I have been exposed to during these days in Uganda. There is so much we need to do on this issue. If you like to read more about Pfizer’s work on Access to Clean Water I recommend that you read more on the web-site on Pfizer’s Environmental Sustainability Program, where Access to Water is one of three pillars.

During the afternoon we saw the SAFE strategy at work in reality. We went to a school where the anti-biotic pills were distributed to the kids. Once every year the program visits the schools and treat the kids.

Kids lining up for medication

The pills shall be swallowed down with clean water - definitely a challenge for a school in rural Uganda.

Pills swallowed with clean water

It was such a joy for me and the rest of the visitors to meet all these children. So much happiness, and so much energy - you cannot avoid being touched. The kids showed me their classroom,

The classroom

and we surely had a good time!

A lot of happy faces

We then took off from the school to visit the village health centre. Here patients lined up to be investigated for trachoma. We saw several patients suffering from trachoma, and even the most advanced phase of the illness, trichiasis. The eye lid has turned inside out and the eye lashes destroy the lens, resulting in great pain and in blindness.

Checking for trachoma

In these late stages of trachoma, surgery is needed. And once again I was impressed by the whole set-up. After identifying the ones needing surgery, the patients were directly taken into the operations room. We followed the surgery of two older women.

Preparation for surgery

It is a relatively fast operation, and it completely changes the lifes of the patients.

Surgery is on-going

From being under great pain and approaching blindness, the patients are cured. And then with the help of medicines, they will stay SAFE.

I am very happy to have been part of this experience today, and let me finish up with quoting one of the folks at the health centre today:

“Thanks for doing all this, and for helping us fight these illnesses”

Of course, you cannot awoid being touched and feeling proud…

Tomorrow will will see yet another one of the Pfizer Investments in Health programs, namely the Diflucan Partnership Program. But more on that tomorrow.

A day at the Infectious Diseases Institute

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Infectious Diseases Institute

Just arriving back to the Kampala Serena Hotel after a breathtaking day at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI). And in accordance with my expectations, as I wrote already yesterday, the strongest impact was from visiting the so called IDI friends in their homes. But more on that later…

We started out by making a tour of the Mulago Hospital, which is located directly adjecent to IDI.

Mulago hospital

We also got a nice view of the Makerere University, which also is part of a strong cluster of competencies around IDI.

Makerere University

We then toured the IDI operations. Everything from the R&D operations, via the treatment facilities and the training center, to the so called Marketplace. Although the R&D activities are extremely strong, the cure for HIV/AIDS and TB patients of course critical, the training center vital for building health care capacity around in Africa, it was nevertheless the Marketplace that really made me understand how important the IDI is. At the Marketplace the patients and their families and carers help one another with daily matters. Today when we passed through their was a training session on dying fabrics.

In the Marketplace

The Marketplace was crowded with people, as were many other parts of IDI. The place is really making a difference in peoples lifes! And I became even more clear on that when we split up the group of Pfizer colleagues and accompanying journalists into smaller teams and followed the IDI friends to their homes. And as I said in the beginning of today’s blog article - this visit made an extremely strong impact.

My team followed Rachel to her home. Rachel is 28 years of age and has AIDS. She has been sick since the early 90-ties and been under medication at IDI since 2005. Such an incredible strong person! She works as a volonteer at IDI, e.g. giving traing on the need of using condoms to be safe. She also helps people to manage the stigma of being HIV/AIDS-infected.

Rachels neigbourhood

I am so impressed by the strength Rachel has. And by the attitude of “not giving up” although she is ill and lives in an environment that is so chocking to me and other poeple from the “Western world”… Rachel told me that “I just cannot give up. The day I give up - then I could lay down and die…” I guess we all have things to learn from that!

Rachel shows Priscila (IDI) her house

Rachel and her husband, Constantin, were very friendly and open to us. They told their stories of life - about HIV infection, about lost children and relatives dead in AIDS - but still with open and welcoming hearts.

Rachel and her husband

Sitting in their extremely small and narrow house, listening to their stories, probably will change the way I see life. It is as I wrote when leaving for Uganda yesterday:

“a life changing experience - you will just not ever again see things the way you did before the visit…”

Tomorrow we will see more of Pfizer’s Investments in Health, our global philanthropic platform. Focus tomorrow will be the International Trachoma Initiative, followed by the Diflucan Partnership Program on Thursday.