Update on the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation

The Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation's primary goal is to broaden access to HIV/AIDS antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and care in developing countries. As part of this effort, Pangaea is playing a leading role in the construction of a new Infectious Disease Institute at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. This facility, which is scheduled to be completed this February and fully operational in October of 2004, will serve as both a regional HIV clinical training center for physicians and nurses and as a treatment clinic for people living with HIV.

The Infectious Disease Institute is a product of a partnership between Pangaea, the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa ("Academic Alliance"), and Pfizer Inc, which provided an $11 million construction and program grant for the project. In addition to providing oversight of the construction itself, the Pangaea staff, led by Project Director Barbara Lawson, is working to build necessary financial, legal, administrative, and managerial structures to support the development and successful roll-out of the Institute's training and treatment programs. Once construction is complete and all financial and administrative systems are in order, the facility will be turned over to the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University

Dr. Nelson Sewankambo is Dean of the Medical School at Makerere University and Co-Chair of the Academic Alliance. According to Dr. Sewankambo, "We have started training doctors from all over Africa in the care and treatment of HIV/AIDS, but the clinic will allow us to expand our current programs at Makerere and increase the number of physician trainees. We also plan to diversify our programs and eventually train nurses and technicians, as well. But it's not just about training -- we'll also be able to expand the clinical care we'll be able to provide. The clinic, which will include a world-class laboratory facility, will truly be a model for how to treat people with HIV/AIDS."

Pangaea's Barbara Lawson has a strong background in the development and implementation of administrative systems that will serve as the foundation for future success. In the early stages of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, it has been critically important to prove that it is possible to build successful, sustainable care and treatment programs supported and run by local doctors and health care administrators. From Barbara's point of view, "It's great to have good ideas, but you need infrastructure in place to assure donors that their money is being put to the best possible use. Our job is to show the skeptics that it can be done."

Paula Luff, Director of International Philanthropy for Pfizer and The Pfizer Foundation, has worked closely with Barbara Lawson on the Makerere University project. Paula says that Pfizer contracted with Pangaea to work on the new clinic because they knew that Barbara and her colleagues at Pangaea had the experience and the expertise to manage all facets of the project. Paula commented, "Barbara has been great to work with--she's a smart, savvy administrator, who has provided valuable oversight every step along the way."

Barbara concluded: "Bringing together the medical expertise of the Academic Alliance, Pfizer's financial contribution, and the fiscal and administrative support of Pangaea is proving to be a powerful combination. We believe that this facility will be a model of AIDS treatment and medical staff training for all of Uganda and the world."

For more information about the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, please visit www.pgaf.org.