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Mailman School of Public Health Center Providing More Than 158,000 People With HIV Care and Treatment in Africa and Asia
February 28, 2007
Press Release
NEW YORK, Feb. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- More than 158,000 HIV-infected people in Africa and Asia are currently receiving HIV care, including more than 75,000 people receiving life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART), through the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
"Over the past year, ICAP-supported programs more than doubled the number of people enrolled in HIV care and treatment," said ICAP director Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH. "In partnership with in-country organizations, ICAP will continue scaling up high-quality programs for people suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world." ICAP's programs are broad in scope and support diverse activities including: infrastructure development, laboratory renovations, provider training, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
ICAP supports comprehensive, family-focused HIV programs at 208 sites in 14 countries, principally in sub-Saharan Africa. Using multidisciplinary teams to provide technical and programmatic support, ICAP works directly within the National HIV Control Programs and public health care systems of host countries to build capacity for HIV prevention, care, and treatment. Distinctive features of ICAP programs include: family-focused approach; training for non-physician-providers of HIV care; initiatives to expand HIV prevention, care, and treatment for children; efforts to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child; model centers for integrated tuberculosis/HIV care and treatment; initiatives to prevent malaria in endemic regions with HIV prevalence; linkages to sexual and reproductive health services and the development of peer programs and community outreach activities.
"ICAP has built a proven model for fighting HIV/AIDS in resource-limited settings," said Allan Rosenfield, MD, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health. "As ICAP continues to support healthcare systems in host countries, it will help turn the tide not only on HIV/AIDS, but potentially enhance health services for all people in the communities where ICAP works."
ICAP supports HIV programs in Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Thailand.
ICAP programs are funded by The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. ICAP also is supported by the following foundations: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Starr Foundation.
ABOUT THE MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
The only accredited school of public health in New York City, and among the first in the nation, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health provides instruction and research opportunities to more than 950 graduate students in pursuit of masters and doctoral degrees. Its students and more than 300 multi-disciplinary faculty engage in research and service in the city, nation, and around the world, concentrating on biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, population and family health, and sociomedical sciences.
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