ASCP Receives Increase In Federal Funding For The Fight Of AIDS In Africa

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 04 Oct 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) continues to expand its program to fight AIDS in Africa. The Society learned this week that another $2,841,902 will be granted to support programming through its cooperative partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is an increase of more than $1.6 million from the previous year for the program, "Capacity Building Assistance for Global HIV/AIDS Lab Guidelines & Standards Development."

"We are encouraged that the CDC and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services continue to support our efforts to staunch the spread of this disease through laboratory training and education," said ASCP President John S.J. Brooks, MD, FASCP. "We have a lot of work to do, but ASCP volunteers, its supporters and other groups with shared goals are dedicated to the mission of stopping this disease."

With continued research and recent promising results in AIDS vaccination plus Congress-backed funding to encourage doctors to remain in Africa, much needed attention is being called to the mission of stopping AIDS worldwide.

Chicago-based ASCP began its partnership with the CDC in July of 2004 in support of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), training laboratorians in hematology, chemistry, and CD4 testing to monitor HIV/AIDS patients in countries with limited resources. ASCP's efforts have expanded to include the strengthening of laboratory infrastructure, preservice training curriculum review, phlebotomy training, and laboratory management training.

During the past two years, ASCP members have provided technical assistance as well as facilitated training workshops in Ethiopia, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia. The successful outcomes of these activities were a key factor in the CDC's decision to grant the Society's application for a third year of funding. While programs will continue in these countries, the new funding will also support laboratory strengthening initiatives in Rwanda, Nigeria, Namibia, Haiti and Cote d'Ivoire.

Statistics show that some 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries -- that's nearly one in every five adults -- orphaning more than 650,000 children.

For more information on ASCP's PEPFAR related activities, visit http://www.ascp.orgoutreach.

"Pathologists and laboratory professionals by nature are a group of people always looking for solutions and ways to improve people's lives through discovery," said Dr. Brooks. "It's literally and figuratively in our blood to create initiatives and partner with others to find answers to the domestic and international problems of today."

Along that vein, the ASCP is proud to be a part of the redevelopment of New Orleans as it prepares to host its 2007 Annual Meeting and exhibit Oct. 18 - 21. For more information on the ASCP, its initiatives and events, visit http://www.ascp.org.

Founded in 1922, the American Society for Clinical Pathology is a professional society with nearly 140,000 member pathologists and laboratory professionals. Based in Chicago, the ASCP provides excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists, and laboratory professionals.

American Society for Clinical Pathology
http://www.ascp.org