Foundation Blog
News, commentary, and voices in the efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS in children worldwide.
Posted by
Robert Yule
Boston, MA
March 1, 2011
Photo: Olivier Asselin/EGPAF
Over the past few days, the Foundation has led the charge in the call for a continued commitment to pediatric HIV/AIDS research.
Just yesterday, at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), being held in Boston, MA, we announced Dr. Landon Myer of the University of Cape Town in South Africa as the recipient of the 2011 International Leadership Award.
Shortly thereafter, the Winter 2011 issue of Global Health Magazine hit newsstands featuring an article about the need for continued studies into pediatric HIV/AIDS, authored by the Foundation's Vice President of Research Dr. Laura Guay.
And earlier today, the Huffington Post published an op-ed co-authored by Dr. Nicholas Hellmann, the Foundation's Executive Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, and Dr. Richard Marlink, a senior adviser to the Foundation and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. The piece called to light the advances in pediatric HIV/AIDS research over the past two decades, and called for a renewed commitment to new studies.
Continue past the jump for more information and links to all of these articles.
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Posted by
Charles Lyons
Washington, D.C.
March 1, 2011
Foundation President and CEO
Charles Lyons in Kenya.
(Photo: Georgina Goodwin)
Top of mind for me in recent weeks—and a topic that’s been reflected in headlines around the world—is the threat of decreased U.S. Government funding for critical HIV/AIDS work. Two weeks ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would drastically cut lifesaving global health funding, including $363 million for global HIV and AIDS programs and $450 million for the Global Fund. I am deeply concerned about this legislation, which is now in the hands of the Senate.
U.S. budget problems are real—but they’re not caused by global health programs or foreign assistance, and our economic difficulties won’t be solved by cutting these lifesaving programs.
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In 2001, a few hundred UCLA students attended the first Dance Marathon to raise awareness and hope for the thousands of children around the world who were affected by HIV and AIDS. That original group of students raised a few thousand dollars to help support the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Fast forward ten years and while the event itself is largely unchanged, the numbers have grown exponentially. A few hundred dancers has grown into a few thousand, and a few thousand dollars raised has swelled to nearly half-a-million.
Foundation co-founders Susan DeLaurentis and Susie Zeegen attended the event and spoke to a room of exhausted dancers at the conclusion of the 26-hour marathon. Click past the jump to read their first person account of the Dance Marathon and what a decade of dancing has meant to the Foundation.
Photo: Susan DeLaurentis (far left), Susie Zeegen (second from left), and Foundation President and CEO Chip Lyons (3rd from left) pose with the Dance Marathon at UCLA Executive Committee following the event. (Credit: EGPAF)
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Posted by
Mara Gordon
Lilongwe, Malawi
February 24, 2011
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A healthcare facility in
Lilongwe Dstrict in Malawi.
(Photo: Mara Gordon/GHC)
In 2010, the Foundation and Global Health Corps (GHC) partnered to increase health services and contribute to a strong and lasting health workforce in the sub-Saharan African country of Malawi. GHC placed two fellows in the capital city of Lilongwe to provide valuable capacity to support the Foundation's work in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for women, children, and families in the country.
One of the fellows, Mara Gordon, recently blogged on the GHC website about the disparity in technology between the United States and Malawi. She identified the challenge that it presents when trying to offer basic healthcare services to the nation's 15 million citizens, and what steps are being taken to overcome those challenges.
Click past the jump to read Mara's blog.
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Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
February 24, 2011
Photo: Benjamin Myers
This week Foundation President and CEO Charles Lyons spoke to Voice of America about Saturday’s budget vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. The budget passed by the House would cut more than $800 million in funding for global HIV/AIDS programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund.
Read more about Lyons' interview and the Foundation's response to the budget vote after the jump.
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Posted by
Charles Lyons
Washington, D.C.
February 17, 2011
Rajiv Shah at NIH. (Photo: USAID)
In the face of uncertain funding for critical HIV/AIDS programs, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Rajiv Shah, presented a road map for the future of global health and international development programs.
Shah delivered the David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture earlier this week at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to a room full of scientists, researchers, and innovators. He highlighted the important role science plays in global health development, and outlined an ambitious agenda for the next five years to expand global health breakthroughs and improve health outcomes worldwide.
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