8 MAY - 2022PARTNERSHIPS IN HEALTH CAREThe World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the importance of partnerships as follows: "Global health partnerships, networks and alliances, and initiatives have been established to raise visibility of an unmet need, support coordination, provide financial support to countries, and/or provide common platforms for working together by combining the relative strengths of different stakeholders including the public sector, private sector entities, nongovernmental organizations, philanthropic foundations and academic institutions."Pfizer Upjohn ("Upjohn" thereafter) has established two important private-public partnerships via collaborations within the Emerging Markets to harness the power of an abundance of data to advance non-communicable disease (NCD) awareness, to improve integrated care, and to assure that the solutions for NCD care are piloted and achieved. First, the New York University Abu Dhabi and Upjohn launched a pioneering multi-sectoral partnership to drive advances in the management of non-communicable diseases. THE DEVASTATION OF NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASESThis year, approximately 41 Million people will die from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and other chronic conditions collectively known as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The leading cause of mortality and disability globally, an alarming 30% of NCD deaths are premature, occurring in people under the age of 70. The result is a devastating impact on patients, families, communities and global economies. Much of this mortality and disability is preventable. Yet, effective, sustainable intervention requires a groundswell of integrated action across multiple sectors - action on a level yet to be reached.More than half of the NCD burden could be avoided through health promotion and prevention initiatives. In addition, modifiable behaviors, such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol increase the risk of NCDs. These behaviors are, in part, a result of complex circumstances, including social and economic status, that impact a person's health.What action has been taken so far? The past seven years have witnessed an unprecedented global political commitment to NCD prevention and control, culminating in the inclusion of NCD targets in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, country targets have been issued to reduce global NCD-related mortality by 30% by 2030. While there IN MY OPINIONPartnerships in Action: Advancing Healthcare through Collaborative Science in Emerging MarketsBy Salman Rizvi, MD, MBA, Anurita Majumdar, MD,Kelly H. Zou, PhD, PStat®, FASA, and Amrit Ray, MD, MBA, Research, Development and Medical, Upjohn Division, Pfizer Inc.
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