The international nonprofit organization Population Services International (PSI) and the biopharmaceutical company, Pfizer have announced Healthy Communities, a US$ 1 million collaboration to expand access to life-saving hypertension medicines and treatment services in Myanmar and Vietnam.

Approximately one-quarter of all adults in Myanmar and Vietnam have hypertension1,2, which can lead to stroke – a leading cause of mortality in both countries.  The Healthy Communities program, designed to reduce the barriers that limit hypertension detection, screening, and treatment adherence, aims to incubate sustainable and scalable treatment models and understand how best to support patients and providers.

“Pfizer has partnered with PSI for many years based on our shared vision of making a meaningful contribution to improving global health and ensuring access to quality healthcare, especially in underserved communities around the world,” said John Young, group president of Pfizer Essential Health.  “Through this partnership we are helping to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, which ultimately can aid in preventing severe illness and saving lives.”
Karl Hofmann, president and chief executive officer of Population Services International, said, “PSI's partnership with Pfizer is a great example of the impact that can be achieved when values are shared between organizations that are committed to learning and improving the health of people in low resource settings.  We are excited to work with Pfizer to better understand hypertension management in Asia, investigate the needs of our joint consumers, and ensure that we are building long term-programs to provide basic health for all.”

The Healthy Communities programme aims to develop sustainable and scalable models of hypertension management in high-burden countries, with an initial goal to screen more than 500,000 people and train up to 400 healthcare workers to provide hypertension management services in 360 private sector health facilities in Myanmar and Vietnam.

The program also supports Pfizer’s commitment to Access Accelerated, a global partnership involving more than 20 biopharmaceutical companies and associations, working with partners such as the World Bank, and the Union of International Cancer Control, towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal target to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 2030.