|
Corporate Social Responsibility
News
7.12.2004 ET
|
CSR News from:
|
|
|
News Category:
|
|
Abbott Laboratories Shares Results And Key Learnings From Programs To Fight HIV/AIDS In Developing Countries
(CSRwire) BANGKOK, THAILAND - Abbott Laboratories and the Abbott Laboratories
Fund today announced that program results and key learnings from the
company's Global Care Initiatives would be highlighted in more than 30
presentations at the XV International AIDS Conference taking place this
week in Bangkok. Abbott Laboratories is investing $100 million over five
years in the fight against HIV/AIDS through four programs that address
areas of critical need in developing countries: services to care for
orphans and vulnerable children with Step Forward; the improvement
of health care infrastructure with Tanzania Care; access to testing
and treatment through Abbott Access to HIV Care; and the prevention
of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV with the Determine HIV®
Testing Donation Program.
"Through effective partnerships among government, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and industry, replicable models can be created that
deliver results in fighting HIV/AIDS," said Reeta Roy, divisional vice
president, Global Citizenship and Policy, Abbott Laboratories. "With the
recent increase in international funding for HIV/AIDS initiatives in
developing countries, there is a great need to identify programs that have
shown demonstrable results. We look forward to sharing the results and key
learnings from our programs with the global HIV community."
Program results to be discussed at the conference include:
Reducing pediatric AIDS mortality by more than two-thirds (15 percent
to 3 percent) in Constanta, Romania, through the care provided by a
comprehensive pediatric HIV clinic funded by the Step Forward
program. This successful model is being replicated in other countries
through the work of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative.
Serving more than 140,000 orphans and vulnerable children through the
Step Forward program in 2003; program results included creating
lasting change in reducing stigma and providing support for children and
families affected by HIV in India by working through existing community
organizations, such as economic development groups.
Modernizing Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, the capital
of Tanzania, including the development of modern hospital systems and
construction of a new outpatient department to strengthen its role as
Tanzania's principal referral, teaching and research facility.
Extending the capacity for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) in
16 regional Tanzanian hospitals, reaching deep into both rural and urban
communities.
Donating more than 1 million Determine HIV tests to PMTCT programs in
developing countries. Abbott recently extended its PMTCT donations to
include testing of spouses and children of pregnant women who are found to
be HIV positive through the program.
Providing 6.7 million Determine HIV tests, at no profit, for HIV
programs conducting VCT in 2003, nearly a three-fold increase since
2001.
"Working together with Abbott's Step Forward program, we've been
able to make a significant difference in the lives of hundreds of children
in Romania through the creation of a state-of-the-art pediatric HIV/AIDS
treatment center," said Mark Kline, M.D., director of Baylor's
International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. "With Abbott's continued
support, we're building on our successful Romanian model by establishing a
coordinated network of pediatric HIV/AIDS centers in other countries,
including Botswana, Mexico and Uganda, that will enhance the care of
children with HIV/AIDS around the world."
About Abbott's Global Care Initiatives
Abbott's Global Care Initiatives respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis through
four targeted programs in developing countries around the
world:- Step Forward was created by Abbott and the
Abbott Laboratories Fund to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable
children impacted by HIV/AIDS. Step Forward works with
international and local partners (Axios, Baylor College of Medicine,
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, local governments and in-country NGOs) to
address specific community needs through four critical activities:
education, health services and infrastructure, voluntary counseling and
testing, and provision of basic needs.
- Tanzania Care is a partnership among Abbott, the Abbott
Laboratories Fund and the Government of Tanzania to modernize the
country's public health care facilities and systems, and to improve
services and access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS and other
serious illnesses. The overarching goal of Tanzania Care is to
create a public/private model that can be adapted by other companies and
organizations working to fight AIDS in the developing world.
In collaboration with Axios, its implementing partner, Tanzania
Care focuses largely on renovating and modernizing Muhimbili National
Hospital, the country's largest public health facility, and enhancing its
position as Tanzania's primary research, referral and teaching facility
and as a "center of excellence" for the entire region. The program also
covers regional hospitals and laboratories, modernizing systems,
increasing training of medical workers and laboratory personnel, and
expanding access to VCT for HIV.
- Abbott Access to HIV Care is the company's direct
contribution to the fight against AIDS through broadened access to
Abbott's HIV diagnostic tests and therapies in 69 countries, including all
of Africa. The company provides two antiretroviral drugs, Kaletra®
(lopinavir/ritonavir) and Norvir® (ritonavir) at a loss to Abbott. In
addition, Abbott is the only pharmaceutical company to provide a rapid HIV
diagnostic test, Determine HIV, at no profit for VCT programs in developing
countries. Abbott Access to HIV Care is available to any
organization or institution that provides products to patients as part of
a sound and sustainable program of care.
- Determine HIV Testing Donation Program provides
Determine HIV rapid tests free of charge to programs for the prevention of
mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS in 69 countries, including
all of Africa. Abbott partners with leading organizations working in PMTCT
and cooperates with Boehringer Ingelheim, which provides free HIV treatment
to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child.
Additional
information about Abbott Laboratories Global Care Initiatives, including
information on presentations and activities at the XV International AIDS
Conference, is available at www.abbottglobalcare.org.
Abbott Laboratories has been a leader in HIV/AIDS research since the early
years of the epidemic. In 1985, the company developed the first licensed
test to detect HIV antibodies in the blood, and remains a leader in HIV
diagnostics. Abbott retroviral and hepatitis tests are used to screen
more than half of the world's donated blood supply. Abbott also has
developed two protease inhibitors for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based health care company devoted
to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of
pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and
diagnostics. The company employs more than 55,000 people and markets its
products in more than 130 countries.
Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the
company's Web site at www.abbott.com.
Media Contacts:
Julie Ferguson
Abbott Laboratories
+1-847-936-6116
Peter Vigliarolo
Cooney Waters Group
+1-212-886-2213
Onsite in Bangkok:
Prateek Patnaik
Cooney Waters Group
+0-9484-8034
|
|
