USAID Joins Forces to Fight HIV/AIDS in Tanzania with the Development of a New Health Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2011
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WASHINGTON, DC - USAID through PEPFAR has joined forces through a public-private partnership between Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative (BIPAI), and the Government of Tanzania to help fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic with the opening of a new pediatric facility "Center of Excellence." The center will serve children and families in Mwanza, Tanzania and its surrounding regions; providing much needed access for a population of almost 9 million people.
According to U.S. Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt, "This Pediatric Center of Excellence represents an investment in sustainable development and another critical step in fulfilling the vision of the U.S. and Tanzanian Partnership Framework for a coordinated HIV/AIDS response; providing health services today while building enduring health systems for tomorrow."
The new center will be opened on the grounds of the Bugando Medical Centre, the region's 900-bed tertiary referral hospital. With the newly expanded facility, healthcare workers will be able to care for an increased amount of children and their families, and train current and future HIV/AIDS care providers. Additionally, the center is expected to care for at least 5,000 HIV-infected and affected children and their families by 2013.
With important collaboration with the Government of Tanzania, the center will partner with the Bugando Medical College, Bugando Medical Centre's medical school, to expand their programs in pediatric global health and support curriculum development, mentoring and pediatric residency rotations.
"The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and BIPAI share a common goal of improving the care and treatment of communities affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa, working together with local governments. This new center builds on our longstanding strategy of forging public-private partnerships to effect lasting change at the community level, for the benefit of HIV-infected and -affected children and their families," said John Damonti, president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.
For more information about USAID or PEPFAR, visit www.usaid.gov or www.pepfar.gov.
For more information about USAID's programs, please visit: usaid.gov. To read our blog, see blog.usaid.gov.
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.
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