Catholic Church Joins Private Industry To Combat Aids In Southern Africa

NEW YORK (February 8, 2000) -- The Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) and the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) will join pharmaceutical leader Bristol-Myers Squibb in its multi-million dollar public-private partnership to combat HIV/AIDS in five countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

CMMB will contribute approximately 25 percent of its health care projects’ budget over the next five years to complement Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $100 million commitment, SECURE THE FUTURE™, according to CMMB Executive Director Terry Kirch.

“Our $5 million donation to the SACBC under the auspices of SECURE THE FUTURE will fund programs approved by the bishops in accordance with Catholic moral teachings,” Kirch said. “For 72 years, CMMB has been driven by Christ’s maxim ’ I have compassion on the multitudes.’ We feel this grant exemplifies that teaching.”

SECURE THE FUTURE targets the populations of five countries in southern Africa: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. The broad coalition of the five governments and numerous medical and non-governmental organizations seeks to find sustainable solutions to the HIV/AIDS crisis through medical and public health training, greater access to life-extending AIDS drugs, improved HIV prevention and support for women and children, with a strong emphasis on the growing problem of AIDS orphans throughout the region.

“We welcome the Catholic Medical Mission Board as a partner in SECURE THE FUTURE. CMMB’s commitment to help the people of southern Africa is a sign of leadership that deserves serious attention from others in the American faith community,” said Kenneth E. Weg, vice chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Sub-Saharan Africa is considered the pandemic’s “ground zero.” More than two thirds of the approximately 34 million people infected with HIV/AIDS in the world today live in sub-Saharan Africa, although the area accounts for only 10 percent of the world’s population. Experts estimate that over 70 percent of all new HIV infections will occur in the region.

In the program’s five participating countries, women make up more than 50 percent of infected adults, with teen infection rates typically far higher among females. In addition to the more than 100,000 children living with HIV/AIDS in this region, many children have lost parents to the disease. There are more than 200,000 such orphans in South Africa alone.

“Women and children bear the brunt of this terrible plague,” said Reginald Cawcutt, auxiliary Bishop of Cape Town and chairman of the SACBC’s AIDS committee. “We appreciate the trust CMMB has placed in us to help ameliorate the suffering of those afflicted with HIV.”

SECURE THE FUTURE is a public-private partnership between Bristol-Myers Squibb, UNAIDS, the Harvard AIDS Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, the Medical University of Southern Africa and the governments of the five countries.

Applications for SECURE THE FUTURE grants are reviewed three times a year by an independent peer review Technical Advisory Committee comprised of local, regional and international HIV authorities. The program is independently monitored by the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC), an organization of 6,000 physicians in 43 countries.

CMMB is a New York-based, voluntary, nonprofit organization committed to improving health care for the world’s poor. In 1999 it delivered more than $42 million dollars worth of medical assistance in goods and services to the poor of 57 countries.

Visit Bristol-Myers Squibb at www.bms.com

For more information, contact: Barbara Lynch, Catholic Medical Mission Board, 212-242-7757 ext. 17, or Bob Laverty, Bristol-Myers Squibb Public Affairs, 609-252-5732.

SOURCE: Catholic Medical Mission Board News Release