Expanding a Successful Model Treatment Program
Based on the success of the Abbott Fund supported Romania clinic, multiple donors have supported Baylor's efforts to rapidly establish pediatric HIV clinics in Africa. This includes a partnership between the Abbott Fund, Baylor College of Medicine and the Government of Malawi to establish Malawi's first center dedicated to providing care and treatment for children with HIV/AIDS. Malawi is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa hardest hit by HIV/AIDS. The Baylor-Abbott Fund Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence-Malawi
is located on the grounds of Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi.
According to UNAIDS, almost one million people in Malawi are living with HIV/AIDS. One in four HIV-infected children die before the age of five – one of the highest pediatric HIV death rates in the world. With more than 65 percent of the population living in poverty, the country has very limited resources to fight the disease.
The Baylor-Abbott Fund Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence-Malawi, opened in November 2006, provides state-of-the-art medical treatment, including antiretroviral therapy. The new center is being funded by a $2.2
million grant for construction and ongoing operations from the
Abbott Fund.
Photo Credit: David C. Jones
Additional Baylor pediatric HIV clinics have opened with the help of other donors in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Uganda, and will soon open in Burkina Faso and Keyna. Baylor also is working with health professionals in Libya to enhance the care and treatment of HIV-infected children. The network of children’s clinical centers collectively treated more than 12,000 children with HIV by the end of 2006.
Training Health Professionals in Pediatric HIV Care
The lack of trained health care workers is a key barrier to treatment scale-up in Africa. There is only one health care worker for every 1,000 people in Africa, compared to 10 per 1,000 in North America.
To help address the growing need for care and treatment of children with HIV/AIDS, the Abbott Fund has provided a grant to link Baylor’s individual pediatric HIV clinics through the creation of the Baylor Children's Clinical Centers of Excellence Network. Key areas of focus for the Baylor Network include training health professionals, conducting research, and the sharing of knowledge and best practices through biannual meetings and other initiatives.
An additional grant has been provided to establish the Abbott Fund International Pediatric HIV/AIDS fellowship program within the Baylor Network. The fellowship program supports health professionals for training in pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment, public health, or clinical research. Recipients are chosen from countries where Baylor clinics are active and are expected to continue to advance the care and treatment of children with HIV within the Baylor Network.
For more information about the Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative visit www.bayloraids.org. |