RTI International to host Pfizer Global Health Fellows

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. —As part of a grant from the Pfizer Inc., RTI International will host three Pfizer Global Health Fellows who will serve on a USAID-funded project RTI is working on to reduce national maternal and neonatal mortality in Indonesia. 

The fellows will be the first RTI will host as part of a two-year partnership.

The Global Health Fellows Program is Pfizer’s corporate volunteer program that places Pfizer colleagues with leading international development organizations in three to six month specialized assignments. Fellows transfer their medical and business expertise to promote access, quality and efficiency of health services for people in need. In exchange, Fellows learn how these environments operate and return to Pfizer with experience and relationships that help inform their ability to have an impact on pressing health concerns and to do business more effectively. 

The Pfizer colleagues selected to work with RTI in 2014 are Nivedita Nehra, a senior communications and marketing expert from Pfizer’s New York worksite; Benjamin Eng, a physician and economist with pharmaceutical industry experience from Pfizer’s Collegeville, Penn. worksite; and Ruby Jain, a public health and quality assurance expert, also from Pfizer’s New York worksite. Each will serve four-month assignments that have a pro bono value of approximately $360,000.

“We are excited about this partnership with Pfizer and welcome these fellows to RTI,” said Aaron Williams, executive vice president of the International Development Group at RTI. “We look forward to working with the Fellows to further our efforts to improve the national maternal and newborn mortality rate in Indonesia.” 

The five-year project, called USAID/Indonesia Expanding Maternal and Neonatal Survival, is led by Jhpiego Corporation in partnership with Save the Children, RTI and local partners, Budi Kemuliaan and Muhammadiyah. The project supports the Government of Indonesia’s effort to reduce national maternal and newborn mortality by 25 percent.

Nehra and Eng will contribute to the project’s objective of improving the quality of emergency obstetric and neonatal care services in hospitals and community health centers by helping to improve health facility performance in Indonesia.

To increase the demand and quality of health services, RTI oversees the project’s cross-cutting governance and information communication technology activities to address the service delivery system’s supply and demand. 

Jain will apply her experience to help strengthen information communication technology and governance mechanisms designed to enable citizens to hold facilities and local government accountable for service delivery. These mechanisms include civic forums, working groups and the Citizen Gateway to collect feedback from citizens. 

The Pfizer Global Health Fellows will be based in the project office in Jakarta. They will also be supported by RTI’s Asia regional office, also based in Jakarta.