NEW YORK, NY (May 3, 2004) – A partnership combiningmedicines, philanthropic support, medical expertise, and other resources with on-the-ground community support is showing signs of progress in battling the HIV/AIDS pandemic in hard-hit Uganda, according to a presentation at the InfoPoverty World Conference at the United Nations last week.
The Infectious Disease Institute at Makerere University in Kampala,Uganda, is a collaboration between Pfizer, the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care & Prevention, Pangea, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, The AIDS Support Organization of Uganda, and other local and international organizations.
While a new clinic building is under construction, the program is providing care to 3,000 HIV-infected patients, it was announced. The program’s training component has trained nearly 200 physicians from 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to date, and plans to increase that number to 200 per year, organizers said.
Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation provided start up funding of nearly $14million over three years. Pfizer is contributing a range of resources,including engineering and computer support, global manufacturing support,legal services, assistance from Pfizer employees, and donations of the company’s antifungal medicine Diflucan, used to treat opportunistic infections related to AIDS.
