Pfizer Provides $11 Million to Build AIDS Clinic in Uganda

Architect's rendering of the new clinical care facility at the Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, Uganda.

The Pfizer Foundation and Pfizer Inc have provided $11 million to fund a state-of-the-art clinical care facility at the Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, Uganda. This facility, which will be the product of a partnership of the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa ("Academic Alliance"), Pfizer, Makerere University, and Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, will train health-care workers, provide treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS, conduct research to strengthen protocols of care, and support prevention programs. The ground-breaking ceremony for the new Kampala facility occurred on February 26, 2003 and construction is projected to be completed by mid-2004.

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		Articles in This Issue:
		•	Pangaea Partners with Clinton Foundation on Countrywide AIDS Treatment Programs
		•	Dr. Goosby's Global View: A Response to the Bush Administration's Proposal for Global AIDS Funding
		•	Pangea Staff Profile: Renè Durazzo - Vice President, Global Programs
		•	Pfizer Provides $11 Million to Build AIDS Clinic in Uganda
		•	Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Funds Treatment Program in South Africa
		•	Goosby Joins Bono's Heart of America Tour
		•	Rwandan President Honored During Visit to San Francisco

Paula Luff, Director of International Philanthropy for Pfizer and The Pfizer Foundation, commented: "This clinic is part of Pfizer's commitment to providing solutions to the AIDS crisis in Africa. We're excited and proud to be able to fund a model facility that will treat AIDS patients with the latest drugs and techniques and train local doctors in the administration of ARVs."

At the groundbreaking ceremony, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, Jimmy Kolker, praised the joint effort: "Investments like this are critical to the strengthening of health care services which is an essential part of the care and prevention of HIV/AIDS, and mitigation of the long-term economic impact of the disease. It takes the initiative and partnership of people from academia, private industry, non-government organizations and governments to make important projects such as this happen."

U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Jimmy Kolker (left) and Professor Gilbert Bukenya, Minister to the Presidency and former Dean of Faculty at the Makerere University Medical School, break ground on the new clinic.

The AIDS epidemic has taken a heavy toll in Uganda, although Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has helped foster a strong response to the epidemic that has reduced HIV seroprevalence in the country by 50% from 1992 to 1999. The impact of the disease remains profound – at the end of 2001, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimated that there were 880,000 AIDS orphans and 600,000 Ugandans living with HIV/AIDS.

Led by visionary Co-Directors Dr. Nelson Sewankambo, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University, and Dr. Merle Sande, Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Utah, the Academic Alliance is responsible for the Institute's programs, which are now operating in donated space at Mulago Hospital and Makerere University. The Academic Alliance was founded in 2001 by a group of Ugandan physicians from Makerere University and a number of HIV/AIDS physicians from North America, with assistance from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Pangaea's role in the project is to provide administrative and infrastructure support and construction oversight. Parsons Brinckerhoff Constructors Ltd. will provide the construction management, and has engaged a Ugandan-based design and construction team. The Pangaea staff, led by Project Director for Global Programs Barbara Lawson, has been working to build necessary legal, administrative, and managerial structures to support the construction of the clinic and development of its programs. Pangaea is putting in place the budgetary, employment, and expense systems needed to administer the $11 million Pfizer grant over the next three years. 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.

Ms. Lawson commented: "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. This facility will be a model of AIDS treatment and medical staff training for all of Uganda and the world."