Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
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8.29.2008 - 04:01pm ET
News from:
Abbott
Abbott Fund to Build First Pediatric HIV/AIDS Clinic in Tanzania
Joint Effort with Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative Will Improve Access to Health Care for Children with HIV/AIDS
(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 29, 2008 - The Abbott Fund joined
representatives from the U.S. government, Baylor College of Medicine, the
government of Tanzania and other partners today at a U.S. President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) news conference to announce a
joint effort to improve care and treatment for children with HIV/AIDS in
Tanzania. The Abbott Fund announced it is supporting the construction of
the first pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic in the country, in the Mbeya region of
Tanzania.
"Building this clinic represents an important expansion in Abbott's
commitment to improving access to care for children in the developing
world during the last decade," said Catherine V. Babington, president, the
Abbott Fund. "It fulfills a critical need in Tanzania, where we have been
improving health systems not only for people with HIV, but also for those
with other chronic health issues as well." The new clinic will bring the
first pediatricians trained in the special needs of children with HIV to
Mbeya.
It is estimated that there are currently more than 150,000 (UNAIDS 2008)
children in Tanzania living with HIV/AIDS and in need of treatment and
care. Mbeya has the second highest rate of HIV in the country, with a
prevalence rate of more than 13 percent among a population of more than
two million. According to the National AIDS Control Project (NACP), last
year only 2,280 children were registered to receive care with half
receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. In contrast, almost 16,000 adults
in Mbeya are on ARV therapy.
"While we are making progress in enrolling adults into HIV care and
treatment, our services for children have severely lagged behind due to
lack of trained physicians and other necessary resources," said Eleuter
Samky, M.D., medical superintendent, Mbeya Referral Hospital. "We expect
the new center of excellence to accelerate our ability to make progress
against our national treatment goals for children with HIV." The NACP
goal is to have children comprise 20 percent of all people on treatment in
Tanzania, 88,000 children, by 2010.
The Mbeya center of excellence represents a unique partnership between the
government of Tanzania, Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative
(BIPAI) and the U.S. government, supported by the Abbott Fund. The Abbott
Fund is committing more than $2 million to the project, which will be run
by BIPAI. The clinic will be staffed by physicians from BIPAI and the
Pediatric AIDS Corps, while physicians and other health workers from the
region will be trained in the special needs of caring for children with
HIV. The U.S. government will provide funds for the ongoing operations of
the clinic through the PEPFAR program.
"The Mbeya center of excellence will provide the foundation for pediatric
HIV treatment for the foreseeable future, helping not only to save
children's lives but increase health care worker capacity in the country,"
said Mark W. Kline, M.D., president, Baylor International Pediatric AIDS
Initiative, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. "We
are confident that we will see the profound improvements in children’s
health in Mbeya that we have seen across Africa when integrating pediatric
HIV clinics into national AIDS programs." Today, the BIPAI network clinics
treat more than 26,000 children, representing the largest population of
treated children with HIV in the developing world.
The Tanzania center is modeled after the pioneering work conducted by
BIPAI and supported by the Abbott Fund at the Romanian-American Children's
Center, which opened in April of 2001 in Constanta, Romania. In this
approach, children are not only provided antiretroviral medicine and other
medical treatment, but are supported by a comprehensive program to address
both the children's and their family's other daily needs. This program has
reduced pediatric AIDS mortality by more than 90 percent in Constanta
–– the epicenter of pediatric HIV in Europe.
In 2007, BIPAI opened the first pediatric HIV care clinic in Malawi, also
supported by the Abbott Fund. This original clinic has now expanded to
include satellite clinics in rural areas, treating nearly 2,300 children
with HIV.
To date, the Abbott Fund has provided a total of more than $28 million in
grants and donated products to support the treatment of children with HIV
in the developing world.
About the Abbott Fund in Tanzania
Improving hospital laboratories is the latest effort in the ongoing
partnership between the Abbott Fund and the Government of Tanzania, which
began in 2001. To date, the Abbott Fund has invested more than $50 million
to strengthen Tanzania's health system.
In 2007, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria (GBC) honored the Abbott Fund with an Award for Business
Excellence for National Action for its public-private partnership with the
Government of Tanzania to fight HIV/AIDS. Key results to date
include: - At Muhimbili National Hospital, the national teaching and
reference hospital for Tanzania, the Abbott Fund built a new outpatient
center that serves hundreds of patients each day and integrates HIV care
with other services, and renovated, automated and computerized the central
pathology laboratory;
- Trained more than 10,000 health care workers;
- Provided HIV counseling and testing for more than 150,000 people, and
donated one million rapid HIV tests to the Tanzanian national HIV testing
initiative; and
- Helped more than 150,000 children and families by providing access to
health services, education and training, and pioneering legal protection
for orphans and widows affected by HIV/AIDS.
Most recently, ground was
broken on the first of 23 hospital laboratories to be constructed or
modernized by 2010 with the Abbott Fund support. The $10 million project
will bring improved hospital services to millions of people throughout the
country. In support of the significant work being conducted in Tanzania, in
2007 the Abbott Fund opened its first satellite office in Dar es Salaam.
About Abbott Global AIDS Care Programs
For more than 20 years, Abbott has made a significant contribution to the
fight against HIV/AIDS through the development of innovative tests and
medicines. Expanding on its scientific contributions, Abbott and the
Abbott Fund have invested more than $100 million in developing countries
to improve the lives of people affected by HIV/AIDS through programs
targeting critical areas of need, including strengthening health care
systems, supporting children affected by HIV/AIDS, preventing
mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and advancing HIV testing and
treatment. For more information on these programs, please visit www.abbottglobalcare.org.
About Abbott and the Abbott Fund
The Abbott Fund is a philanthropic foundation established by Abbott in
1951. The Abbott Fund's mission is to create healthier global communities
by investing in creative ideas that promote science, expand access to
health care and strengthen communities worldwide. For more information,
visit www.abbottfund.org.
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the
discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and
medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The
company employs more than 68,000 people and markets its products in more
than 130 countries.
Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the
company's Web site at www.abbott.com.
For more information please contact:
Scott Gilmore
Abbott
1-847-936-1192
www.abbott.com
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