BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will unveil the results of a five-year collaboration that improved overall laboratory systems and services in African countries severely affected by HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB).

The Laboratory Strengthening collaboration between BD and PEPFAR has focused on applying expertise and resources to expand and improve healthcare systems, build local capacity and improve patient care in sub-Saharan Africa. The public-private partnership has supported training and improved diagnostic capabilities critical to the management of people living with HIV/AIDS and those co-infected with TB. The BD-PEPFAR Laboratory Strengthening collaboration is the first U.S. government-supported public-private partnership to pursue a comprehensive, integrated approach to strengthen laboratory systems in multiple African countries.

The organizations will also announce a new collaboration that will impact additional regions and diseases. The new initiative is valued at US $20 million.

• Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
• Dr. Kevin M. De Cock, Director, CDC’s Center for Global Health
• Vincent A. Forlenza, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President, BD
• Dr. Deborah Birx, Director, CDC’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS in the CDC Center for Global Health

Official Press Release

Event Date

Jul 26, 2012