S.F. AIDS Foundation Announces Launch of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation
h3>New International Organization Focused on Treatment Access and Vaccine Preparedness in the Developing World
San Francisco, CA, Nov. 29, 2001 — The San Francisco AIDS Foundation today announced the launch of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation*, a newly-formed organization dedicated to battling the impact of HIV at the international level, particularly in the developing world. An affiliate of the SF AIDS Foundation, the newly-formed Pangaea Foundation will concentrate its efforts on increasing access to life-sustaining HIV treatment and care and supporting the development of an effective HIV vaccine. Dr. Eric Goosby, a renowned HIV clinician and policy expert, is Pangaea’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer. [Read a biography of Dr. Goosby.]
“40 million people are living with HIV and AIDS and 95% of those individuals, who live in the developing world, have little or no access to HIV treatment. Our aim is to address this unacceptable disparity,” said Eric Goosby, CEO of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation. “Using existing infrastructure in partnership with local organizations, our goal is to create sustainable, locally controlled systems of care that can be leveraged and expanded to other regions.”
“Creating the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation is a logical next step for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in meeting its mission of ending the AIDS pandemic and human suffering caused by HIV,” stated Pat Christen, Executive Director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Pangaea’s work will strongly compliment SFAF’s domestic activities, reinforcing our local programs which will all continue in full force.”
“Today, to be effective in controlling the spread of HIV, prevention and medical care efforts must work hand in hand,” explained Dr. Goosby. “If medical systems are available to bring large populations into care we stand a much better chance of not only treating HIV but also of changing the risk behavior that spreads the disease.”
Sub-Saharan Africa, home to the vast majority of the world’s HIV and AIDS cases, is the launching point for the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation’s activities. In this region, where the response to HIV has not included sustained medical treatment, projects aimed at expanding medical care are vitally needed. Currently Pangaea has formed partnerships around the following pilot initiatives:
- HIV Treatment and Access Partnership (HTAP) — an initiative bringing together hospitals and community clinics in South Africa and Rwanda to capitalize on existing medical infrastructure and develop a sustainable capacity to provide HIV drug treatment and treatment for related opportunistic infections and to facilitate home-based practical support to people living with HIV.
- Uganda HIV Treatment and Training Center — a joint initiative with Makerere University in Kampala, Pfizer, the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa, and the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation to construct and operate a facility to train health care workers, provide treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS, conduct research to strengthen protocols of care, and support prevention programs.
- HIV Vaccine Preparedness — working in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Pangaea’s HTAP partners, Pangaea is supporting HIV vaccine community education and preparedness efforts underway in South Africa.
*Pangaea is the hypothetical single landmass that split apart 200 million years ago to form the present continents.
Media Contact: Redge Norton, Media Relations Manager, San Francisco AIDS Foundation