New Documentary Underscores That Successful Treatment of HIV-Infected Children Is Possible in Resource-Limited Settings

New Documentary Underscores That Successful Treatment of HIV-Infected Children Is Possible in Resource-Limited Settings

Program Highlights the Botswana/Baylor Children's Center of Excellence, the World's Largest Pediatric AIDS Treatment Center

HOUSTON, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Baylor College of Medicine announced today that the U.S.-based Discovery Health Channel will turn its lens on the smallest and often most overlooked victims of HIV/AIDS -- the children of Africa. "Botswana: A Race Against Time" helps illustrate the urgency of the HIV/AIDS pandemic currently plaguing more than 2.2 million children around the world.

Written, shot and directed by award-winning journalist Dr. Bob Arnot, formerly of NBC and CBS News, this 30-minute documentary provides an intimate look at the lives of two small Botswanan girls infected with HIV/AIDS. It also brings to light the miraculous results that can be achieved when the necessary resources and infrastructure exist. Unlike most children in Africa, only one percent of whom are receiving any kind of treatment, these girls had access to life-saving treatment through the Botswana/Baylor Children's Center of Excellence in Gaborone, Botswana. This clinic was created in partnership with and is currently supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb's groundbreaking Secure the Future program, which has previously awarded more than 200 grants totaling $150 million in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Too many children in the developing world are falling victim to HIV/AIDS due in large part to a combination of a lack of trained health care professionals and adequate facilities," said Mark W. Kline, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and director, Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. "As shown in this documentary, Africa desperately needs a strong public sector commitment and programs like Secure the Future that invest in long-term chronic care giving children, families and communities a second chance at life."

The documentary is slated to air on the Discovery Health Channel on Sunday, September 25 at 12:00 noon EST -- check local listings for additional information.

Children's Clinical Centers of Excellence

The Baylor College of Medicine and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company recently announced that they will open the doors to two new children's clinics by the end of 2005 in Lesotho and Swaziland. New clinical centers will also be added in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, Kampala, Uganda, and two additional sites (locations TBD). The Burkina Faso center will be the first pediatric HIV/AIDS center in West Africa and the Kampala center will replace a facility too small for the growing patient population.

Pediatric AIDS Corps

In an effort to address another major barrier to treating HIV-infected children in Africa -- a lack of trained professionals -- the Baylor College of Medicine and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company unveiled another new initiative this June.

Over the next five years, the newly launched Pediatric AIDS Corps will recruit and send more than 250 U.S. physicians from the top pediatric programs to Africa to treat approximately 80,000 children and train local health care professionals. To date, the program has already secured more than two dozen recruits from leading U.S. medical schools and residency programs nationwide. For more information about the pediatric AIDS corps, including how interested physicians can apply, please visit http://www.bayloraids.org/.

About Baylor College of Medicine

Baylor College of Medicine, one of the nation's top academic health sciences centers, is committed to advancing human health through the integration of patient care, research, education and community service.

Source: Baylor College of Medicine

CONTACT: Lori Williams of Baylor College of Medicine, +1-713-775-6912, loriw@bcm.tmc.edu

Web site: http://www.bayloraids.org/

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