Gambian immunologist awarded

Dr Assan Jaye is one of Three Recipients Honored in Johannesburg on World AIDS Day – 30th November 2007.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, a world leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS, today presented its prestigious "International Leadership Award" to researchers from The Gambia, India and South Africa.

In 2007 recipients received the awards from Foundation President and CEO Pamela W. Barnes at a ceremony in Johannesburg.  They are Dr Assan Jaye of The Gambia; Dr Anneke C. Hesseling of Cape Town, South Africa; and Dr Purnima Madhivanan of Mysore, Karnataka, India.  The announcement comes on the eve of the 20th World AIDS Day.

The International Leadership Award (ILA) supports physicians and scientists world wide, who have the training and potential to develop pediatric HIV programs, but lack the financial resources to do so.  They are involved in mentoring, initiating and improving services, providing support to governments, research, evaluation, and training.

The ILA program has provided $5 million in awards to date.  With generous funding this year from Jewelers for Children, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation requested applications from India and Africa, receiving 46 letters of intent and soliciting 13 applications.

The recipients proposed specific projects to be supported by ILA funding.  In The Gambia, Dr Jaye will establish a Pediatric HIV Clinic and Research Unit that will study the development and treatment of pediatric HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection.  In India, Dr Madhivanan will train traditional birth attendants in Mysore Taluk to provide services to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

In South Africa, Dr Hesseling will develop a project integrating TB- and HIV-prevention strategies to reduce maternal and infant sickness and death.

"This year’s recipients are accomplished and dedicated men and women, and their work promises to make a real difference in the lives of families in their nations, and in the larger battle against pediatric AIDS," Barnes said.

"Dr Jaye’s work will help countless families in The Gambia by developing combined research and clinical capacity in the region.  We are delighted to recognise and support his efforts.  We established the International Leadership Award in 2002 to provide critical resources to just such highly trained researchers, physicians and public health professionals in the developing world.

We are proud to support their efforts and welcome them into the family of scientists, clinicians and implementers funded by Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation."

The ILA program supports a new generation of leaders in the battle against AIDS, in the expectation that they will establish programs that dramatically alter the course of the pediatric HIV epidemic in their countries.

Awardees share their knowledge with others in their home nations, so the group of leaders continue to grow.  In the past three years, nine ILA Award winners have mentored 62 staff members, trained 802 health care staff (doctors, nurses, counsellors, and technicians) and published 31 peer-reviewed publications and manuscripts.

Countries served include Cameroon, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda, with India and The Gambia added to the list today.

As the jewelry industry’s charity, Jewelers for Children (JFC) is generously supported by those who create and sell fine jewelry and watches.  Manufacturers, retail jewellers, trade associations, watch companies and those who provide professional services to the Jewelry industry unite on behalf of children.

Since 1999, nearly $28 million has been invested in special programs to reach children whose lives have been devastated by catastrophic illness or life-threatening abuse and neglect.