In The News
30 Years After the Onset of AIDS: Building Solid Capacity to Fight this Disease and Future Epidemics
June 17, 2011, Washington, DC – The United Nations recently held its High Level Meeting on AIDS, where top officials from both the developed and developing world gathered to discuss the importance of continued vigilance in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for global support and commitment to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2020 by stopping new infections, ending stigma, and preventing AIDS-related deaths. To achieve and sustain this ambitious goal, it is more important now than ever to build Africa's capacity to fight the disease.
On Monday, Dr. Larry Altman, the New York Times medical correspondent, moderated a discussion among Dr. Warner Greene, president of Accordia and director of the Gladstone Institute of Immunology and Virology, University of California San Francisco; Dr. Alex Coutinho, executive director of IDI; and Caroline Roan, vice president of corporate responsibility for Pfizer, Inc, on the topics of prevention, care, research, and health leadership.
Almost a decade ago, Accordia Global Health Foundation, Pfizer Inc, and a coalition of physician-scientists from leading North American, European, and African universities partnered to create the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. IDI has since grown into an African-owned and -led center of excellence that has achieved real returns on investment: improved healthcare for millions of men, women, and children across Africa.
Thirty years after the first documented cases of HIV/AIDS, the success of IDI represents a solid solution to end the infectious disease crisis in Africa. The model enables continuous innovation and responsiveness to the most pressing regional health concerns, functioning at the intersection of training, research, and advanced clinical care to drive standards and retain Africa’s best and brightest. Its governance and management structures ensure long-term focus and locally-appropriate solutions, and its integration into the local health system has led to longer-term sustainability.
The transformative impact of IDI is well documented, and it is now internationally-recognized as a center of excellence in infectious disease. A new report, IDI: A Transformative Investment, chronicles the success of this institute. Click here to view an electronic copy of the report: www.accordiafoundation.org/transformative-investments.
Click below to listen to a podcast of the June 13 press conference featuring Dr. Larry Altman, Dr. Alex Coutinho, Dr. Warner Greene, and Caroline Roan.
