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Project HOPE Partners with Merck and the Honduran Ministry of Health to Vaccinate Hondurans Against Pneumococcal Disease

Project HOPE, a global health education and humanitarian assistance organization, in partnership with Merck, is collaborating with the Honduran Ministry of Health to further advance efforts to vaccinate vulnerable populations against pneumococcal infections, a major cause of pneumonia.

Building upon a similar, public-private partnership among Project HOPE, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and Merck, the program in Honduras will vaccinate more than 675,000 adults ages 60 and older and individuals between the ages of 2 and 59 with indicated chronic diseases.

Through this public-private partnership, Merck will donate to Project HOPE more than 675,000 doses of its vaccine Pneumovax 23 (Pneumococcal Vaccine Polyvalent) and make a charitable contribution of approximately $300,000 to help strengthen health care capacity in Honduras over the course of a three-year phased program.

"Without Project HOPE, many people would not get the health care they need," said Richard T. Clark, Merck chairman and Project HOPE acting chairman. Mr. Clark is leading the HOPE in the Face of Crisis Campaign – an effort to raise $30 million to save lives and alleviate suffering for millions of underserved people across the world. He added, "There are children, women, and men throughout the world who are alive today because of this work. Project HOPE has a special mission in this world, and it's critical that we help the organization achieve its goals."

Additionally, Project HOPE staff in Honduras will work with the Honduran Ministry of Health and community health groups to raise awareness and knowledge about pneumococcal disease and its prevention. Prevention is important as certain pneumococcal bacteria are becoming more resistant to common antibiotics making them harder and more costly to treat.

"Making a positive difference in the health and care of thousands through knowledge and education is what Project HOPE does best," said John P. Howe III, M.D., president and CEO of Project HOPE. "However, HOPE could not improve the health and care of Hondurans without the generous support of the Honduras Ministry of Health and Merck."

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