Agency marks 75 years of working for better health in poor nations

Published: 2003-11-18

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The Catholic Medical Mission Board celebrated its 75th anniversary with an emphasis on its partnership with church, private and government agencies, both international and domestic, in carrying out its mission of improving health care in poor countries. To spotlight these partnerships, the board honored Henry A. McKinnell Jr., head of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company, at a dinner Nov. 17 in New York, where board headquarters are located. Much of the board's work consists of distributing medicines donated by pharmaceutical companies, and Pfizer has been a leader in making such philanthropic gifts, board president John F. Galbraith said. He also announced an International Founder Award to Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, who has joined the board in carrying out a program, Our Way for Honduras, to establish clinics throughout the country and provide a model for other countries of Latin America.

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