The Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Center of
Excellence was opened and officially dedicated by His Excellency Mr. Festus
Mogae, President of the Republic of Botswana, on June 20, 2003. The facility,
the first of its kind on the African continent, provides and supervises
state-of-the-art care and treatment for more than 4,000 HIV-infected children
and families from around Botswana, both at the center and through its
decentralized clinical mentoring program.
Staffed by Botswana and U.S. health professionals, the
center of excellence provides primary and specialty medical care and social
services for HIV-infected infants, children and their families. BIPAI Botswana
maintains an annual mortality rate of <1%, a rate as good as any Western
nation, and the majority of its patients are thriving.
Education and
training
Health professional education and clinical research are
integral to the center's mission. Collaborative education and training
activities include development of curricula on pediatric health and HIV/AIDS
for health professionals, short-term U.S.-Africa exchange fellowships, and
long-term training for African health professionals at Baylor College of
Medicine. Learn more about BIPAI Botswana’s education and training programs.
Dr. Gabriel
Anabwani, professor of clinical pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine,
directs the Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Center of Excellence. Dr.
Anabwani is the former chair of pediatrics at the Princess Marina Hospital,
which is Botswana's largest and most important hospital. He has extensive
leadership experience in pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment and clinical
research in Africa. Learn more about BIPAI Botswana’s research.
The Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Center
of Excellence is the product of a partnership between BIPAI, the Princess
Marina Hospital in Gaborone, and the government of Botswana. It was made
possible by a $6 million grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation's
Secure the Future program. The center is also supported by the Fogarty
International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global AIDS Program.