Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and the International Pediatric Outreach Project to Unite to Expand Efforts to Help Women and Children
Two Bay Area Nonprofits Merge for Greater Impact on Women and Children Worldwide
ALBANY, CA (March 20, 2013) – After a decade of partnering to help women and children living in the most neglected areas of the world without access to healthcare, Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and The International Pediatric Outreach Project (IPOP) are merging into one nonprofit organization, Global Strategies. The new organization now has a greater capacity to serve women and children in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe and in rural India.
Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and IPOP complement one another in mission and operations. Both organizations have successfully used the model of working directly with and training healthcare providers in the most remote, impoverished and isolated parts of the world. “By drawing on our strengths, combining resources and coming together, we will empower communities in the most neglected areas of the world to improve the health of women and children,” said Joshua Bress, MD, President of Global Strategies. “We will focus our efforts on addressing education and training opportunities in HIV prevention, neonatal care and rehabilitation for life-threatening injuries and congenital disabilities.”
One new project that will have even greater impact because of the strengths of the merged organization will be efforts to teach nurses in the care of sick babies through shoulder-to-shoulder mentoring and innovative digital education tools.
“Both organizations share the belief that all women and children deserve access to healthcare. We expect that bringing our partners and supporters together to accomplish this common mission will mean a faster pace to that mission than either of us could achieve separately and ultimately more lives will be saved and improved," said William Clark, Chairman of the Board. Both boards will continue their service as a combined board and stay on to provide expertise and oversight to the merged organization.
Founded by Arthur Ammann, MD, Global Strategies has been working internationally since 1999 to save the lives and alleviate the suffering of women and children through HIV prevention, treatment, and care. Collaborative programs were established in conflict and post-conflict areas through the guidance of national leaders working on the ground in countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Zimbabwe. To date over 100,000 pregnant women have been tested for HIV, 1,000 HIV positive children have been put on treatment and more than 5,000 healthcare and community workers have been trained in 140 clinics and hospitals in 18 countries.
Founded in 2002 by Theodore Ruel, M.D. and Sadath Sayeed, M.D., J.D., IPOP's mission was to improve the health of children in under-resourced communities across the globe. IPOP established hospital nursery projects, rehabilitation initiatives, school health programs and scholarships for healthcare professionals. IPOP worked diligently to improve the education of nurses and the quality of care, with specific attention to the care of sick babies and pediatric rehabilitation from traumatic injury or congenital anomaly. IPOP trained over 200 nurses and clinic staff in neonatal resuscitation.
