Remarks by Pat Christen, President, Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation

IDI Dedication Ceremony Makerere University
Kampala, Uganda
Wednesday, 20 October 2004

Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda;
Honorable Ministers;
Mr. Ambassador, Mr. Vice Chancellor;
Drs. McKinnell, Sewankambo, Kuggwa, McAdam and Sande;
Honored guests and colleagues;

Good afternoon.

It is an honor for me and my colleagues from the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation to be here with you today for this historic and hopeful occasion.

Mr. Vice Chancellor, I would like to thank you and your esteemed university colleagues in particular for your gracious hospitality.

As many of you know, Pangaea's mission is to broaden access to AIDS-related treatment and care in the developing world. We are especially proud to have provided fiscal, administrative and project management support to assist in the development of the IDI.

The creation of the Institute has been an extraordinary undertaking and a compelling journey for us all.

As you know, it starts with Drs. Nelson Sewankambo and Merle Sande who had the dream - and the amazing vision - to see that an institution like the IDI could be created in the first place. Their collective wisdom, insight and perseverance were essential ingredients in the embryonic stages of the IDI's development.

And then comes Pfizer's Hank McKinnell - one of the great champions of the Infectious Diseases Institute. The IDI would not have become a reality had it not been for Dr. McKinnell and his readiness to provide a breath-taking and unprecedented commitment of time, money and human resources from Pfizer.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there are all of the people here today who contributed their hard work and expertise to every phase of the IDI over the past three years and helped turn an inspiring and hopeful vision into a stunning reality - the reality of the building we see here today and its programs that will save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the years to come.

There are simply too many people to thank individually at the moment, though I would like to single out several who were especially critical to this effort.

First, thanks goes to the government of Uganda for its continuing and steadfast support of the project, with special recognition to President Museveni and the First Lady and to the Ministry of Finance for granting the IDI special tax status. Mr. President, your leadership against AIDS is a beacon of hope for the world. Your support of the IDI is yet another example of this exemplary leadership.

Next, I must express my admiration and respect for the physicians of the Academic Alliance who lent their staggering talents, time and passion to create the IDI.

I would also like to acknowledge the construction firm of Parsons Brinkerhoff and our local contractor, Cementers, who together helped make this project a model of local and international collaboration.

Finally, please let me extend my heartfelt gratitude and admiration to all of the staff of the IDI. Your dedication and commitment are an inspiration to us all.

Now, let me highlight for you briefly two factors that I believe were critical to the successful completion of the IDI.

First, Pfizer's willingness to provide adequate and flexible funding throughout this project has been essential. Leveraged use of these resources not only allowed for the construction of the IDI itself but also allowed for the development of world class training, research, lab and clinic capability supported by solid fiscal and management systems.

Second, project management skills are critically important to ensure that dreams and vision get turned into meaningful program reality on the ground.

Superb project managers are everywhere on this project. People like Chuck Wilson and Tom Kakaire, Cecilia Nakitto and Julia Martin, Barbara Lawson, Paula Luff, Jim Hillboldt and Donna Ryan Rose to name a few.

Skillful project management does not grab headlines. But it does mean patients have up-to-date files, pharmacies have supplies, water runs, rooms are clean, money is accounted for, tests are administered, computers function - no detail large or small is overlooked to provide top quality programs in a reliable manner.

Let me close now by describing a poignant anecdote to you.

When the doors of the IDI clinic opened on August 30th and clinic founder Dr. Elly Katabira, and his staff gathered to commemorate the occasion, they spontaneously sang the Ugandan national anthem together in the clinic reception area. To be sure, there were few dry eyes in the room. The moment marked the end of one journey - the completion and opening of the IDI - and the beginning of another.

Robert Goddard once wrote,

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."

I believe it is the obligation of all of us gathered here today to nurture the dream and hope provided by the creation of the IDI so that one day, in reality, we will see an end to the AIDS pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV.

On behalf of the board and staff of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, including board members Dr. Paul Volberding and Paul Wisotzky who are here today, thank you for inviting us to be a part of this historic and hopeful undertaking. It has been our great privilege and honor.

Good day.