Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation’s New President and Key Partners Commemorate Foundation’s 20th Anniversary and Progress Made in Combating HIV and AIDS in Kenya

February 25, 2010

Nairobi, Kenya—The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is pleased to welcome its new President and CEO, Mr. Charles Lyons, to Kenya, February 25-27, where he will meet with Kenyan and U.S. government officials, donor agencies, implementing partners and other key stakeholders to discuss how best to collaborate in addressing the country’s most pressing HIV/AIDS issues.

Mr. Lyons will get a first-hand look at the Foundation’s key programs and the work of its major partners, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOPHS), the Ministry of Medical Services (MOMS), and the National AIDS/STD Control Program, and others.

“I am honored to come to Kenya and see how we and our partners carry out this life-saving work,” said Lyons. “With our partners, we are working to achieve a generation free of HIV. I look forward to continuing collaboration to advance our shared goal of eliminating pediatric HIV and AIDS.”

A day-long round of site visits and meetings on Thursday, February 25th, will be followed by a breakfast meeting on Friday, February 26th, at the InterContinental Hotel in Nairobi. The meeting will bring together key partners to discuss past successes and current needs in fighting pediatric HIV/AIDS. Those speaking at the event include:

Keynote address: The Honorable Beth Mugo, Minister of Public Health and Sanitation, Kenya
Lynn Adrian, Director, Office of Population & Health, USAID
Suzanne Theroux, Deputy Director for Management, Global AIDS Program, CDC
Dr. Shahnaz Kassam Sharif, Director of Public Health and Sanitation, Kenya
Dr. Nicholas Muraguri, Head, National AIDS/STD Control Programme
Mr. Charles Lyons, President and CEO, EGPAF
Dr. Nicholas Hellmann, Executive Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, EGPAF
Peter Savosnick, Country Director for Kenya, EGPAF

EGPAF began an HIV/AIDS program in Kenya in 2000, which has expanded from a small, privately-funded prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) initiative to a much larger prevention, care, and treatment program. EGPAF has an in-country office that is now a significant partner of Kenya’s two Ministries of Health. Working with MOPHS and MOMS, the Foundation has become one of the nation’s largest HIV/AIDS program partners, supporting 682 PMTCT sites and 94 care and treatment sites in the Eastern and Western Provinces as of September 30, 2009.

“Working with our partners, we’re making great progress on reaching more mothers, children, individuals and families with the lifesaving prevention and treatment services they need,” said EGPAF Country Director for Kenya Peter Savosnick.

EGPAF also works with its partners to fight stigma against those living with HIV/AIDS, and to build in-country capacity of community-based organizations. Its advocacy efforts focus on working with Kenya’s MOPHS and MOMS to increase women’s access to, and participation in, high quality PMTCT and HIV/AIDS care and treatment services, and to assist government involvement in the national HIV/AIDS effort.

EGPAF is also a leader in HIV/AIDS operations research in Kenya, and actively supports research projects to increase the reach and effectiveness of PMTCT and HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs throughout the country.

As a consortium member of the USAID-funded AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance II (APHIA II) projects, EGPAF works with JHPIEGO in Eastern Province and PATH in Western Province to expand access to integrated HIV/AIDS services.

Together with its partners, EGPAF has provided HIV counseling and testing services to more than 429,000 pregnant women, and provided 15,000 pregnant women living with HIV with medicines to help prevent HIV transmission to their infants, as of September 30, 2009. EGPAF has also started more than 25,000 individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS, including more than 2,300 children under the age of 15.

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About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, based in the U.S. and working in 17 around the world, is a global leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS. Its focused technical expertise, innovative research programs, collaborative training initiatives, global advocacy efforts, and rapidly expanding international prevention and treatment programs are bringing dramatic changes to the lives of children worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org/jointhemoment.