Ambassador Rudasingwa to Lead Pangaea's Partnership Efforts

Over the past several months, the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, the Foundation's international affiliate, has grown to accommodate the demand for treatment scale-up in the developing world. As part of that growth, Pangaea has enlisted Ambassador Theogene Rudasingwa, MD to be Vice President for Global Affairs. In this role, Rudasingwa will lead Pangaea's fundraising and development efforts and manage the organization's external relations portfolio.

"We are moving into a new phase of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and elsewhere with national governments increasingly taking a leadership role," said Dr. Eric Goosby, Pangaea's CEO. "Theogene brings a remarkable outlook and set of skills to our work, complementing and strengthening our existing expertise in advising national health ministries on the scale-up of HIV/AIDS treatment services for their people in need."

Rudasingwa, who joined Pangaea in June, earned his medical degree from Uganda's Makerere University and an honorary Ph.D. from Trinity College. From 1990 to 1996, he was a leader in the Rwandese Patriotic Front, working to end the genocide and playing an influential role in establishing Rwanda's new government. Rudasingwa was the first Ambassador to the United States in post-genocide Rwanda, helping to shape the country's new relationship with the U.S. More recently, he taught at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and was the director of Bridging the Divide, an initiative to support sustainable development in resource-poor countries.

In his new position, Rudasingwa will be responsible for establishing and developing global partnerships with organizations engaged in large-scale HIV/AIDS treatment delivery. As a key member of Pangaea project teams, he will work with incountry partners to maximize the effectiveness of new programs.

"I'm tremendously excited to join my old friends at Pangaea, whose efforts were instrumental in getting AIDS treatment off the ground in Rwanda and in extending Pangaea's services to some of the countries in Africa hardest hit by AIDS," said Rudasingwa. "As someone who grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, I'm keenly aware of how important it is to reach out to bring needed care and treatment to marginalized and underserved populations."