Geneva, Switzerland, Melbourne, Australia, 18 May 2013 – The multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer has received the 2013 Partners in Development Award, given every four years by the International Council of Nurses (ICN).  The Awardrecognises foundations, corporations, non-governmental organisations or other groups that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and investment in nursing and health care capacity building, bringing benefit to the health of populations. The award was bestowed during the opening ceremony of ICN’s 25^th Quadrennial Congress, in Melbourne, Australia. 

 

Presenting the Partners in Development Award to Pfizer representative, Paula DeCola, ICN President Rosemary Bryant said, “We are pleased to recognise Pfizer for their sustained commitment to strengthening and supporting nursing in delivering quality care. Pfizer and ICN have collaborated on numerous initiatives over many years, and we are proud to count Pfizer as a generous, enthusiastic and reliable partner, and friend to nursing”.

 

The world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company, Pfizer is committed to working together with various stakeholders to improve health care.  In recognition of the important role of nurses, Pfizer has established a platform to engage nurses, and commissioned global research on nurse perceptions over the last few years in order to identify nurses’ key concerns and to identify areas in which Pfizer might support nurses and, by doing so, strengthen health care systems, globally.

 

Pfizer and ICN have worked in partnership on a number of projects over the years:

 

ICN and Pfizer have collaborated on two global nursing surveys.  In 2009, more than 2,000 nurses completed a survey on Nurses in the Workplace: Expectations and Needs. In 2011 another survey entitled Non-Communicable Disease Global Crisis: Potential to Lead in Prevention? showed that while nurses are enthusiastic about spending more time addressing NCD prevention, they are hindered by workload, environment and time constraints.

 

Pfizer’s International External Medical Affairs Group was the founding sponsor of the ICN’s Global Nursing Leadership Institute which offers an advanced leadership programme for nurses and/or midwives at senior level and executive positions in developed and developing countries across the world.  Since 2009 Pfizer has provided 35 bursaries to support participants from lower income countries.

 

Pfizer is also supporting ICN’s campaign against non-communicable disease.  The joint project, Growing Your Health: The Wellness Tree, aims to assist nurses working within the public health sector to focus on their health and wellness and to support those in the community who are at risk of developing or have been diagnosed with NCDs.

 

Pfizer has also worked with the World Health Professions Alliance, of which ICN is a member, on the Be Aware Take Action toolkit on counterfeit medicines.

 

Finally, Pfizer has also been a longtime supporter of the ICN and Florence Nightingale International Foundation’s Girl Child Education Fund (GCEF), sponsoring the FNIF Fundraising Luncheon and providing financial support for the annual GCEF Coordinators’ workshops.

 

 

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide. Operated by nurses and leading nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality care for all and sound health policies globally.