Saving Lives. Helping People. by Swiss Aids Care International

SAVING LIVES. HELPING PEOPLE.

’ We can only be human together.’

Desmond Tutu

Nobel Peace Prize winner

Sculpture by D ominic Benhura, who teaches the art to young patients.

Dear reader The fact that you’re reading this brochure shows that you’re in

We can only do this with your help. The Swiss Aids Care Inter

terested in helping people in need – even though they may live

national foundation is primarily financed by private donations.

on another continent and in another culture far away from the

Without this generous support, we would never have been able

affluence of Switzerland. We also want to help people. As South

to achieve all that we have – or all the things that we plan to do

African Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu once said: “We

in the future.

can only be human together”. That’s why we have been working in Zimbabwe, one of the poorest countries in Africa, since 2003.

We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your interest in our project.

There are more than 1.4 million people infected with HIV living in Zimbabwe. We want to help them. For example, we organise training courses to pass on our knowledge to local health care workers and doctors. And we run Newlands Clinic in Harare to give some 5 ,500 patients living in extreme poverty access to

Prof. Ruedi Lüthy

Sabine Lüthy

modern therapy and care.

Medical Director

CEO

Newlands Clinic

Swiss Aids Care International

LIFE-SAVING MEDICAL AID NEW L AN DS C L IN IC

At Newlands Clinic, around 5,500 des

We don’t intend to simply stand by and

Effective therapy

titute HIV patients receive effective

watch this happen. The foundation Swiss

For the treatment to be successful, it’s

therapy – and new hope for the future.

Aids Care International has been running an

essential for the patients to take their medi-

When Prof. Ruedi Lüthy visited southern

outpatient clinic in Zimbabwe’s capital,

cation regularly. For this reason, they go for

Africa in 2000, he saw the tremendous suf-

H arare, since 2004 . Newlands Clinic was

a regular check-up at the clinic. A combina-

fering of people with HIV at first hand. In

set up by Prof. Ruedi Lüthy, who has been

tion of these examinations, therapy based

Zimbabwe alone, around 1.4 million people –

working to combat the disease since the

on the latest scientific findings, and a well-

about 15 % of the population – are infected

early days. He and his local team at New-

equipped laboratory enables us to identify

with HIV or have already developed AIDS .

lands C linic provide treatment and care

HIV-related problems at an early stage. For

Those affected often live in abject poverty

for around 5,500 patients, most of them

many patients, the treatment offers the gift

and cannot afford life-saving medication.

women and children. Many children whose

of a second life.

The need is great: without treatment, mil-

parents and care givers have a lready died

lions of people will die from AIDS in sub-

from AIDS have been left to fend for them-

Saharan Africa over the coming years.

selves.

’ This therapy is our salvation – without Ruedi Lüthy we’d all be dead now.’

Pastor and father Maxwell

Kapachawo, who has

been receiving treatment

at Newlands Clinic since 2005

A BETTER LIFE AD DI T I O N AL P R O J E C T S

Our patients live in severe poverty.

treatment of cervical cancer and sexually

with HIV . In another group they have the

With additional projects, we help them

transmitted infections, the centre offers

chance to learn traditional sculpture.

get back on their feet.

family planning services.

Vocational skills training: We help young

Many of our patients are undernour-

Food aid: Protein-rich milk powder enables

people make a start to their working life –

ished, suffer from diseases in addition to

children to build up their strength, and we

as a photographer or cosmetician, for ex-

AIDS , or are unemployed. Wherever we

also provide malnourished patients with

ample.

can, we aim to provide help over and above

basic foodstuffs.

Dental treatment: Every two weeks, a den-

HIV therapy. We use specifically earmarked

Nutritional gardening: A vegetable-growing

tist handles the most urgent cases.

donations to fund projects that go beyond

project teaches families in poor areas how

medical treatment.

to feed themselves better by growing maize

Women’s Health: Thanks to a significant

and vegetables.

bequest, we have been able to set up a

Help for young people: We run self-help

Women’s Health Centre in a building next to

groups where young people can share their

the clinic. In addition to diagnosis and

concerns and learn about living responsibly

’ I’ve learned a lot about the treatment of children and young people – above all, I’ve learned about how they feel.’

Course participant

Nellia Zakazaka,

a doctor at St. Patrick’s

Hospital in Hwange

SPREADING KNOWLEDGE TR AI N I N G CE N T R E

In addition to helping our patients, we

agement e very year. We intend to train even

want to give people throughout Zim

more people in the years to come. Only by

The course also focuses on psycho

babwe the chance to get better access

passing on our knowledge can we give

social care. For example, health care work-

to treatment. To do this, we train local

Zim b abwe lasting support in the fight

ers and doctors learn how to explain the

health care workers.

against AIDS.

disease to children and how to support young people. They then use this know

HIV therapy is complex, and most of the

clinics in Zimbabwe lack the necessary

Caring – the right way

All-encompassing training course

ledge in clinics across Zimbabwe.

know-how. This means it’s extremely impor-

In a two-week crash course, we teach

Thousands of HIV patients, well beyond

tant to thoroughly train doctors and health

people the theoretical basics and how to

Newlands Clinic itself, benefit from this

care workers. Newlands Clinic now has a

care for HIV patients in practice. This en-

e very day.

mainstay in the form of our own training

ables them to diagnose and treat the most

centre. Working with the Zimbabwean

common complications themselves, as well

health ministry, this centre trains around

as monitoring the therapy by means of lab

500 local nurses and doctors in HIV man-

tests.

’ It is a precious gift to watch underweight, seriously ill patients become strong, confident people again.’

Prof. Ruedi Lüthy

Director of Newlands Clinic

and founder of

Swiss Aids Care International

SAVING LIVES WITH NEW IDEAS R E S E AR CH AN D D E V E L O PM E N T

Newlands Clinic is involved in various scientific projects. By passing on the

Using resources efficiently One of the most important achieve-

findings of this research, we do our part

ments in recent years has been the devel-

to improve the quality of HIV treatment

opment of Electronic Point of Care Health

worldwide.

Systems (e POC ), a software specially de-

Prof. Ruedi Lüthy’s team is involved in

signed for the treatment of HIV patients.

research into how HIV dev elops resistance

The software was developed in Zimbabwe

to drugs during therapy, the impact of pro-

to help deal with the fact that the country

e POC is tailored specifically to condi-

fessional advice on therapy adherence, and

has hardly any doctors any more. Well-

tions in developing countries. The software

the properties of human papilloma v irus,

trained nurses and carers can use it to take

is already being used in a number of local

which can trigger cervical cancer. This way

on most care and treatment tasks and rap-

clinics, and various organisations working

Newlands Clinic helps bring about impor-

idly identify the course of the disease, com-

in developing countries have expressed an

tant medical advances.

plications, and treatment successes.

interest in it.

HOW YOU CAN HELP US YOUR CO N T RIB U T IO N

As a charitable foundation, Swiss Aids

With a contribution of CHF 600, you can

national to be a beneficiary in your will. We

Care International relies on donations.

fund appropriate and effective HIV treat-

will be pleased to tell you about your op-

With your help, we can continue to save

ment for a whole year, giving a child or

tions for leaving money to charity.

lives and give people new hope in the

adult infected with HIV access to life-saving

Âfuture.

therapy. This project sponsorship covers

We want to give people living with HIV in

treatment, psychosocial care and constant

Zimbabwe the level of treatment that we

monitoring of the therapy, including wages.

Many thanks for your support!

take for granted here, and are grateful for any donations that allow us to do so. By

Leave a legacy

making a donation, you support not only

Many people want to make a difference,

the future of adults, families and children,

and also want to make sure that they can

but also the economic and cultural devel-

continue to do good after they are gone. By

opment of a whole country whose people

setting up a legacy, you can arrange during

need our solidarity.Â

your own lifetime for Swiss Aids Care Inter-

Bank account: St. Galler Kantonalbank, CH-8021 Zurich IBAN: CH74 0078 1143 1515 0025 0, BIC : KBSGCH22

’ Ruedi Lüthy put his heart and mind into combating the AIDS epidemic in Switzerland. Now he’s putting all his efforts into a much more difficult environment to help the people affected there.’

Former Federal Councillor Ruth Dreifuss

has been on Swiss Aids Care International’s

Patronage Committee since 2003

OU R FO UN DAT IO N 14

Foundation Board

Patronage Committee

Scientific Advisory Council

Ulrich B. Mayer, lawyer, Zu-

Ruth Dreifuss, former Swiss

Bernard Hirschel, Prof., Chair-

rich, President; Hans Lutz,

Federal Councillor, Geneva;

man of the Cantonal Ethics

Prof. em., v eterinary surgeon,

Kurt Aeschbacher, TV pre-

Committee Geneva (CCER);

Rüdlingen; Ruedi Lüthy, Prof.

senter and journalist, Zurich;

Jörg Schüpbach, Prof., Direc-

em., Harare / Zimbabwe,

Felix Gutzwiller, Prof. em.,

tor of the Swiss National Cen-

Muntelier; Gregor Neidhart,

Member of the Swiss Council

tre for Retroviruses, University

certified expert in accounting

of States, former Director of

of Zurich; Christoph Rudin,

and controlling, Winterthur;

the Institute of Social and Pre-

Prof., H ead of the departments

Patrick Rohr, communications

ventive Medicine, University

of general Pediatrics and Pedi-

consultant and journalist,

of Zurich; A lexandra Trkola,

atric Nephrology, University

Zurich; Martin Fuhrer, former

Head of the Institute of Medi-

Children’s Hospital, Basel

Head of International Cooper-

cal Virology, University of

ation Swiss Red Cross, Bern

Zurich; Ambassador Marcel Stutz, Embassy of Switzer-

Executive Management Sabine Lüthy, Muntelier

Directorate Newlands Clinic

land, Canberra/Australia;

Ruedi Lüthy, Prof. em., Medical

Martin Täuber, P rof., Rector

Director; Matthias Widmaier,

University of Bern

Country Director Publishing details Concept and text: open up, Zurich Photography: Pia Zanetti, Zurich; Katja Snozzi (page 4); Hervé Le Cunff (page 13) Graphic design: asm, Thalwil

BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER MOST THE F O UN DAT I ON

Swiss Aids Care International was found ed as a charitable foundation in 2003

Broad-based support In addition to the Foundation Board, the

by Prof. Ruedi Lüthy. Its aim is to provide

management of the foundation also has the

lasting help to people who are infected

support of a scientific advisory council and

with HIV and who live in poverty.

a patronage committee, both including

The foundation was set up by Prof.

well-known personalities who have loyally

R uedi Lüthy, who runs Newlands Clinic in

supported the foundation since the outset.

Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, and is a member of the Foundation Board.

Prominent donors

His daughter, Sabine Lüthy, has been

The foundation Swiss Aids Care Interna-

tion, Galenica Group and its affiliates, the

CEO since 2012, thus ensuring that the

tional is mainly funded by donations and

Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child

foundation’s work will continue in keeping

contributions from the Swiss Agency for

Care, and the pharmacy Apotheke zum

with Prof. Lüthy’s vision and ideals over the

Development and Cooperation ( SDC ). Key

R ebstock AG, as well as other foundations

long term.

partners are the Bernhart-Matter-Founda-

and major private donors.

Swiss Aids Care International

Telephone + 41 (0) 31 302 05 65

Falkenplatz 9

info @ swissaidscare.ch

3012 Bern,â&#x20AC;&#x2030;Switzerland