Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation ("the Foundation") is a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

  infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. Founded in 1988, the organization works in 17 countries around the world.

Elizabeth Glaser's Story

Elizabeth Glaser
Elizabeth Glaser
Elizabeth Glaser, born Elizabeth Meyer, , was a major American AIDS activist and child advocate married to actor and director Paul Michael Glaser. She contracted HIV very early in the modern AIDS epidemic after receiving an HIV-contaminated blood transfusion in 1981 while giving birth...

 (née Elizabeth Meyer) (November 11, 1947 – December 3, 1994) was an American AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 activist and child advocate. She was married to actor and director Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser is an American actor and director, perhaps best known for his role as Detective David Starsky on the 1970s television series Starsky and Hutch; he also appeared as Captain Jack Steeper on the 1999 to 2005 NBC series Third Watch.-Early life:Glaser, the youngest of three...

.

Elizabeth contracted HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 in 1981 during the early stages of the AIDS epidemic after receiving a transfusion of contaminated blood while giving birth to her daughter Ariel. Elizabeth then unknowingly passed the virus to Ariel and to her son Jake, who was born three years later.

The virus went undetected in all three infected family members until they underwent HIV testing in 1985, at which time Ariel began suffering from a series of unexplained illnesses. Ariel had developed advanced AIDS at a time when the medical community knew very little about the disease, and there were no available treatment options. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AZT
Zidovudine
Zidovudine or azidothymidine is a nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitor , a type of antiretroviral drug used for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. It is an analog of thymidine....

 in 1987 as a drug that could extend the lives of AIDS patients, but this approval only extended to adults. Although the Glasers fought to have their daughter treated with AZT intravenously, Ariel died from complications of AIDS in 1988.

In the aftermath of Ariel’s passing – and determined to save her son Jake, as well as to give hope to other HIV-positive children – Elizabeth co-founded the Pediatric AIDS Foundation in 1988 with friends Susan DeLaurentis and Susie Zeegen. Their work raised public awareness about HIV infection in children, and spurred funding for the development of pediatric AIDS drugs as well as research into mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

An advocate for the elimination of pediatric AIDS, Elizabeth became known to audiences nationwide when she was a featured speaker at the 1992 Democratic National Convention
1992 Democratic National Convention
The 1992 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party nominated Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas for President and Senator Al Gore of Tennessee for Vice President; Clinton announced Gore as his running-mate on July 9, 1992. The convention was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New...

. During her speech, she criticized the federal government's underfunding of AIDS research and its lack of initiative in addressing the AIDS crisis. Elizabeth and her family also were profiled in a 1991 edition of People Magazine.

Elizabeth lost her own battle with AIDS in 1994, and the Pediatric AIDS Foundation was renamed the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in her honor shortly thereafter.

Activities

The Foundation works to eliminate pediatric AIDS in three ways:
  • International Programs: Responding to the need for HIV prevention, care, and treatment services, the Foundation works in regions of the world most affected by HIV and AIDS. Working together with governments and partners, Foundation-supported programs provide a range of HIV-related services: counseling, testing, the establishment of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs, and lifelong care and treatment for children and families.
  • Research: Foundation-funded researchers around the world work to improve HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs; to train the next generation of international pediatric HIV research leaders; and to pursue the development of a pediatric HIV vaccine.
  • Public Policy and Global Advocacy: The Foundation’s public policy and global advocacy efforts work to challenge national governments and international organizations to commit the political and financial resources necessary to achieve the elimination of pediatric AIDS.

Grants and Awards


The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation provides several grants and awards to scientists performing research aimed towards the study and eradication of pediatric AIDS. The Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award is one of the many awards that the foundation offers through a competitive award application process.

Award & Grant Winners

  • Margaret Feeney, M.D., M.Sc. 2006 Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award Winner for her project, "The Immune Response to Acute Perinatal HIV Infection."
  • Alexandra Trkola, Ph.D. 2006 Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award Winner for her project, “The Humoral Immune Response to HIV.”
  • Sunil Kumar Ahuja
    Sunil Kumar Ahuja
    Sunil Kumar Ahuja, M.D. is a professor of Medicine, Microbiology, Immunology & Biochemistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and an expert on the role of immunogenetics on HIV pathogenesis. Dr. Ahuja is also the Director of the Veterans Administration Research...

    , M.D.: 2001 Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award Winner for work on the influence of genetics on HIV/AIDS

Goals

The Foundation’s overarching goals include:
  • Increasing access to services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV;
  • Increasing access to care and treatment for children and families, including antiretroviral therapy (ART);
  • Linking PMTCT services to care and treatment in order to provide a continuum of care;
  • Researching and identifying technologies and interventions in PMTCT and care and treatment;
  • Documenting replicable models in PMTCT and care and treatment; and
  • Training research and program leaders to advance all of the above.

Countries with Foundation-supported programs

  • Cameroon
    Cameroon
    Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

  • China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

  • Ivory Coast
  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • India
    India
    India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

  • Kenya
    Kenya
    Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

  • Lesotho
    Lesotho
    Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

  • Malawi
    Malawi
    The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

  • Mozambique
    Mozambique
    Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

  • Rwanda
    Rwanda
    Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

  • South Africa
    South Africa
    The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

  • Swaziland
    Swaziland
    Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

  • Tanzania
    Tanzania
    The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

  • Uganda
    Uganda
    Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

  • United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Zambia
    Zambia
    Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

  • Zimbabwe
    Zimbabwe
    Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...


Statistics

As of December 31, 2009, the Foundation reached the following milestones in its prevention, care, and treatment initiatives:
  • The Foundation worked in 17 countries and supported more than 4,800 sites.
  • In 2009, more than 2.3 million women accessed Foundation-supported services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Since the beginning of its global programs, the Foundation has provided more than 9.2 million women with the services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies.
  • In six years, the Foundation's care and treatment programs, focused on children and their families, have enrolled more than 923,000 individuals, including nearly 75,000 children. Since enrollment began, more than 482,000 individuals have begun antiretroviral treatment — and more than 39,000 are children under the age of 15.

External links

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