|
NEWS RELEASES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili
visits with a patient at Texas Children's during a
visit to Houston. Photo courtesy of Smiley Pool
|
HOUSTON (July
26, 2007) – The
Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) will
increase the number of physicians it has assigned to Lesotho and
build satellite clinics in scaling up its commitment to assist the
country, one of the hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic.
Dr. Mark Kline, president of BIPAI, announced the expansion of
services during a visit to Houston by Lesotho Prime Minister
Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili. Kline said the number of physicians
assigned to the country in southern Africa will be increased from 10
to no fewer than14 and at least 10 satellite clinics will be built
and opened, providing HIV/AIDS care and treatment services to
children and families in each of Lesotho’s 10 districts. The value
of this new commitment is approximately $2 million over an initial
18-month period.
“Our
commitment to Lesotho began in 1999 with health professional
education,” said Kline, also a professor of pediatrics at
Baylor
College of Medicine and chief of retrovirology at
Texas Children’s Hospital. “In full partnership with the government
of the country, we have been able to open a state-of-the-art
treatment center and send physician support. This expansion will
allow us to care for even more children and families. It furthers
the reach of this program, already a success story in saving lives.”
The
Baylor-Bristol-Myers Squibb Center of Excellence – Lesotho opened in
2005. Last summer, 10 members of the Pediatric AIDS Corps were
assigned to Lesotho. More than 1,500 HIV-infected children already
are in care in the center. This expansion of services is possible
through the support of Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s
Hospital and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.
“I am
absolutely overwhelmed. You cannot begin to imagine what these
donations will mean in the lives of ordinary children and in the
lives of the nation of Lesotho,” said Prime Minister Mosisili. “You
have extended a helping hand to children literally on the other side
of the world. Lesotho is the third in the world of countries
affected by AIDS. Through BIPAI you are literally saving the lives
of thousands of our children.”
Mosisili and
a team of Lesotho government officials visited Baylor and Texas
Children’s a day after ceremonies in Washington, D.C. in which the
U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation announced $362.5
million in support to Lesotho. The MCC was established in 2004 to
help some of the poorest countries in the world.
Kline said
there was one pediatrician in the entire country of Lesotho until
BIPAI sent another physician in 2005 to lead the effort to develop a
pediatric treatment center. The Pediatric AIDS Corps, a joint
program of BIPAI, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Baylor College of
Medicine, sent 10 more physicians in August 2006. The PAC program
recruits, trains and places fully-trained pediatricians and family
doctors in six African countries for one year or more each.
Fifty-two physicians were assigned to African sites last year. The
2007 class includes 24 new physicians and 34 returning physicians,
for a total of 58 working in Africa.
“Our goal is
to expand medical care for HIV-positive children and their families
into the most remote areas of Lesotho,” said John Damonti, president
of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. “Through our support of the
network of satellite clinics and the additional doctors, we will
reach many more families in need.”
A new element
for BIPAI is the establishment of satellite clinics. BIPAI’s Centers
of Excellence are located in urban areas of Botswana, Lesotho,
Malawi, Swaziland and Uganda. Additional centers soon will be under
construction in Burkina Faso and Kenya. The new satellite clinics
will provide lifesaving HIV/AIDS care and treatment to thousands of
children and families residing outside of these main urban areas,
extending the reach of the Centers of Excellence.
“Texas
Children’s Hospital has long been a leader in improving access to
care for children in the U.S.,” said Mark A. Wallace, president and
CEO of Texas Children’s. “While this is a challenging endeavor at
home, children throughout Africa face even greater difficulty
obtaining even the most basic health care. For children with
HIV/AIDS, this access could mean the difference between successful
management of their disease or an untimely death. By adding
satellite clinics and additional physicians, we are making
significant strides in fighting this global pandemic and improving
the quality of life for countless children and their families.”
Kline said
the four additional pediatricians will be on the ground in Lesotho
by October 2007. Some of the satellite clinics will begin operations
immediately, with all targeted for full operation by December 2008.
Dr. Peter G.
Traber, BCM president and CEO, said, “It is very gratifying to see
the excellent work that is being done by BIPAI throughout the world.
In visiting Lesotho for the opening of the treatment center in 2005,
I was struck by the cooperative spirit of all those involved in
tackling an enormous problem. Dr. Kline and his team are making a
difference in thousands of lives throughout the world. This program
is a source of great pride for Baylor College of Medicine.”
BIPAI’s first
center of excellence was opened in Romania in 2001. Since that time,
the effort has expanded to programs in Mexico and the African
countries of Botswana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,
Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.
To learn more
about the BIPAI program, or to pledge a contribution to be matched
by Texas Children’s Hospital, please call 832-824-2107. |
