Hon. Joyce Banda, Republic of Malawi Minister of Foreign Affairs, cuts the ceremonial ribbon during dedication ceremonies for the Baylor College of Medicine-Abbott Fund Children's Clinical Center of Excellence-Malawi in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Dedication ceremonies, November 2, 2006.
Banda, left, and Reeta Roy, Abbott Laboratories Divisional Vice President for Global Citizenship and Policy, unveil a plaque commemorating the event.
Marjorie Ngaunje, Republic of Malawi Minister of Health and Population, laughs with Reeta Roy, Abbott Laboratories.
Dr. Mark Kline with a group of children during dedication ceremonies
Photos by Smiley Pool
Press Release: Abbott Fund, Baylor College of Medicine and the First Lady of Malawi Open the First Clinic for HIV-Infected Children in Malawi (11.2.06)
Slideshow: Photos from the dedication ceremonies
Press Release: Abbott Fund, Baylor College of Medicine and the Government of Malawi Break Ground on First Clinic for HIV-Infected Children
Remarks: Minister of Health, Honourable Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba
Facts on HIV/AIDS in Malawi
Malawi, at the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, has an estimated HIV prevalence rate of more than 14 percent. This translates to an estimated 900,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in this nation of 11 million.
- It is estimated that HIV prevalence among pregnant women may be between
19 and 30 percent.
- The HIV infection rate may be as high one in four adults in urban areas and one in eight adults in rural areas.
An estimated 83,000 children (age 0-15) are living with HIV/AIDS.
- One in four children who are HIV-infected will die before the age of five – this is one of the highest death rates in the region.
At the end of 2003, an estimated 500,000 children living in Malawi had lost their mother or father or both parents to HIV/AIDS.
In 2001, the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH) introduced subsidized antiretroviral (ARV) treatment within three referral hospitals. With the disbursement of Global Fund money in 2003, the MOH began implementing a rapid national scale-up of free ARVs as well as a program for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).
- Currently there are an estimated 10 - 12,000 people taking ARVs in Malawi, almost all of them adults. This number is expected to increase to 80,000 by the end of 2005 due to an influx of $41 million in Global Fund money over two years.
The new Malawi pediatric HIV clinic will be attached to the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), a government referral hospital for the central region of Malawi. KCH also serves as the main teaching hospital for the adjacent Malawi College of Health Sciences.
Sources: UNAIDS, UNICEF, Malawi MOH, Malawi National AIDS Commission (NAC), WHO
