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Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania and the Tanzanian Government Establish Fellows Program to Train and Deploy Medical Professionals to Rural Areas of Tanzania

	Former President Bill Clinton meets with Yale School of Public Health's Division of Global Health student Kaakpema Yelpaala in Tanzania during his six-country tour in sub-Saharan Africa in mid-July.

Global Health Division (GHD) student Kaakpema Yelpaala, former Country Analyst for the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania, attended a reception hosted by the Clinton Foundation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on July 21. The reception was held in honor of Former President Clinton and was attended by Tanzanian government officials, HIV/AIDS experts, directors of non-governmental organizations, representatives from multi- and bi-lateral agencies, and other dignitaries.

On July 20, President Clinton and Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa announced the establishment of the Tanzanian Benjamin William Mkapa National HIV/AIDS Fellows Program. The fellows program deploys at least 30 medical professionals each year to rural areas of Tanzania where they will serve for three years. The fellows receive training in HIV/AIDS clinical care and patient treatment, as well as training in health administration and management. The program is a core part of the Clinton Foundation’s Rural Initiative in Tanzania. The initiative seeks to widen access to antiretroviral drugs (ART) and healthcare for the underserved populations of Tanzania.

Clinton visited Tanzania as part of a six-country tour in sub-Saharan Africa in mid-July to boost the work of the Foundation. The goal of the tour, Clinton said, was to “reinvigorate political will in those countries (Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda) for scaling up AIDS treatment programs.” Partnering with more than a dozen countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia, the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative has assisted countries in implementing integrated care, prevention, and treatment programs. The Foundation provides access to low-cost HIV/AIDS drugs and diagnostics, as well as human and fiscal resources to governments who initiate HIV/AIDS programs.

The country office of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative Mr. Yelpaala worked for supports the Tanzanian government in scaling up access to antiretroviral drugs throughout the country. “I am impressed and inspired by the vigor, dedication, speed, and political prowess with which President Clinton and the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative addresses increasing access to ART for those infected with HIV,” said Yelpaala. “The Clinton Foundation creates a unique niche for business-minded people with social missions, which is a major factor that drew me to the Foundation.”

Mr. Yelpaala has recently begun his second year in GHD after taking a year off to work for the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania following a 2004 summer internship in Dar es Salaam. Mr. Yelpaala graduated with Honors from Brown University in 2002 with aB.A. in Public Health and Development in an International Perspective.