The 30/30 Project

View Original

A New Kind of Project..

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to join other Seattle nonprofits, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Infectious Disease Research Institute, to partner with HIV and tuberculosis vaccine research and testing being done in the Limpopo district of South Africa. This is a new kind of partnership for the 30/30 Project, we are part of a team of funders focused on the construction of the research center and laboratory building. This facility will not only be participating initially in these two vaccine trials but will also be providing and improving patient care in the Limpopo area.The concept for this facility was created by the Ndlovu Care Group, an NGO based in South Africa working to advance healthcare in the rural communities it works in. They focus on comprehensive care and wellness and have existing programs emphasizing palliative care of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and maternal health.  This project is the second phase of  the existing Ndlovu Care Group facility. The first phase provided the community with a 12-hour clinic and a 24-hour maternity ward. The clinic currently treats 11,000 patients, 7,600 of whom are currently seeking treatment for HIV. The second phase, which is currently under construction, will feature a patient waiting area, patient care space and one floor dedicated to the research center and laboratory.The 30/30 Project is excited to have the opportunity to be a part of a HIV vaccine research project, which will broaden our care reach to South Africa. Not only will this research improve HIV care and prevention in South Africa, it will have far reaching implications on the way HIV is prevented and treated all over the world.