Rudasingwa Joins Pangaea as VP for Global Affairs
Former Rwandan Ambassador to U.S. to Lead Partnership Efforts
San Francisco, June 13, 2007 — Ambassador Theogene Rudasingwa, MD has joined Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation as Vice President for Global Affairs. Rudasingwa was formerly the Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States and Chief of Staff for the President of Rwanda. More recently he was a lecturer and visiting scholar at the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley.
In his new position at Pangaea, Rudasingwa will have responsibility for establishing and developing global partnerships with organizations engaged in large scale HIV/AIDS treatment delivery. He will serve as a key member of Pangaea project teams, working with in-country partners to maximize the effectiveness of new programs. Rudasingwa’s role will also include providing leadership to Pangaea’s fundraising and development efforts, while managing the organization’s external relations.
Pangaea CEO Dr. Eric Goosby commented: “Theogene brings a remarkable outlook and set of skills to Pangaea. As we move into a new phase of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and elsewhere with national governments increasingly taking a leadership role, he complements and strengthens our existing expertise in advising national health ministries on the scale-up of HIV/AIDS treatment services for their people in need.”
Rudasingwa added, “I’m tremendously excited to join my old friends at Pangaea, who were instrumental in getting AIDS treatment efforts off the ground in Rwanda, in their efforts to extend Pangaea’s services to some of the countries in Africa hardest hit by AIDS. As someone who grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, I’m keenly aware of how important it is to reach out to bring needed care and treatment to marginalized and underserved populations.”
Rudasingwa graduated from the School of Medicine at Makerere University in Kampala Uganda in 1990. He was a leader in the Rwandese Patriotic Front from 1990 to 1996, working to stop the genocide and save lives and then playing a key role in the establishment of the new government. From 1996 to 1999, he was the first Ambassador to the United States in post-genocide Rwanda, helping to shape the country’s new relationship with the U.S. Rudasingwa was Chief of Staff for the Office of the Vice President of Rwanda in 1999, before becoming Chief of Staff to the President of Rwanda from 2000 to 2004.
Rudasingwa earned a Masters of Arts in International Affairs at Tufts University in 2006. From 2004 to 2006, he was also a lecturer and visiting scholar with the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley where he was Director of Bridging the Divide, an initiative to support sustainable development in the developing world. Rudasingwa received an honorary Ph.D. from Trinity College in 1999 for his leadership and contribution to the positive changes that have taken place in Rwanda.
Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation is a non-profit consulting organization that supports in-country and international partners in the development of healthcare infrastructure for HIV/AIDS treatment efforts. With a special focus on resource-poor settings and underserved populations, Pangaea helps its partners, which include national health ministries, NGOs, universities, foundations, and corporations, strengthen HIV/AIDS treatment infrastructure and systems of care and develop new treatment capacity in order to increase access to care. Pangaea also designs and pilots innovative, effective approaches to HIV/AIDS treatment and treatment-based prevention that can be scaled for country-wide application. For more information visit www.pgaf.org.
Media Contact: Carl Whitaker 510-847-0599 cwhitaker@pgaf.org