Abbott shares results and key learnings from programs to fight HIV/AIDS in developing countries

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 13 Jul 2004 - 12:00 PDT

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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 http://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.

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