The name Maybach
may conjure thoughts of streamlined luxury vehicles, but
the family behind the car is pushing a global effort to
deliver AIDS treatment to those who may not otherwise
receive it. Maybach Family Foundation creator, Ulrich
Schmid-Maybach has partnered with Dr. David Bangsberg,
a research faculty member at the University of California,
San Francisco, to back two Ugandan HIV doctors who can
help fight the spread of the disease. The announcement
came in April at the Milken Institute Global
Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif.
"It's not really linked with cars,"
Schmid-Maybach told The Advocate. "It is
to help other people in the world. It's an economic
question. Sick people can't work. It turns into a
downward spiral. The children of sick people
can't get an education because they're
preoccupied with heading their family. By addressing the
AIDS crisis, we're also addressing economic
issues. We're looking to get individuals whose
talents we can leverage over a broad spectrum in order to
really make a difference."
Bangsberg heads
the Family Treatment Fund based at the University of
California, San Francisco, which has been researching and
administering methods to distribute HIV drugs to
Ugandans since 2000.
"Treatment
in Uganda is so much more accessible now than it was 25
years ago," Bangsberg said. "So the
global response has improved the lives of people;
however, it's an emergent response. The long term,
sustainable response relies on developing local
leadership to develop and lead these programs, for
decades to come."
Since its
inception in October 2006, the Maybach Mentorship Program
has matched mentors who have made strides in their
fields with future leaders all over the globe. The
program supports those who are especially
disadvantaged by giving them access to grants and suitable
opportunities and thus offering them the chance
to become innovators themselves. In this case,
Bangsberg will mentor two young doctors, Irene Andia-Biraro
and Dennis Nansera, who have been combating the spread of
AIDS in Uganda with limited resources, staffing, and
financial backing.
The Family
Treatment Fund has mushroomed into an organization with
global recognition, working hand in hand with the
Global Fund and the President's Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief. Through their outreach,
Bangsberg's group came into contact with the doctors
who, have dedicated their lives to helping those with
HIV through treatment and medical care. Both
Andia-Biraro and Nansera came to the U.S. to present,
alongside Schmid-Maybach, the plans for the Maybach
family foundation's involvement in Uganda,
alongside the Family Treatment Fund.
Each doctor is
just three years out of medical school. Andia-Biraro runs
18 HIV hospitals and five clinics, while Nansera has built
an HIV care facility for more than 1,000 infants and
children. Currently, he is planning an integrated HIV/
tuberculosis clinic with a capacity for 1,500
patients.
Together, they
will work with their mentor, Bangsberg, to improve the
distribution of AIDS drugs and to administer care for
patients with help through the Maybach Family
Foundation.
Nansera described
his efforts with children and adolescents who have been
touched by AIDS as "a real challenge. I work with a
pediatric group, which cares for people who are up to
18 years old, and within that 18 years, there are many
examples of children who succumb to HIV. Prevention is
so hard on so many planes because with breast-feeding,
mothers who are HIV positive are still breast-feeding
their children, and transmitting [the virus] on to
their children."
Teenagers witness
so much early in their years that they become cynical
and apathetic, losing hope for the future. "Usually,
they feel that with HIV the next thing is
death," Nansera said. "So they feel that
if they're going to die, then why should
they struggle and go to school and try to have a good,
healthy life. And a number of them are heading their
homes since their parents have died from AIDS."
Andia-Biraro said
that a girl born in Uganda today has an estimated life
span of about 40 years, and a 30 percent risk of contracting
HIV, which can knock 10 years off her life. Women
have further disadvantages in Uganda economically
because they are more likely to drop out of school to
care for family members who are infected.
"Most of
the women in Uganda are less fortunate than me," she
said. "They have an apparent economic
disadvantage in relation to men. We must help work
toward economic independence of women. I know that this
freedom will give them the confidence to make better
choices, rear a healthy family, and stop the spread of
HIV and AIDS."
While young
doctors in this region often leave for greener pastures,
Nansera and Andia-Biraro aim to initiate infrastructure
reform in their AIDS-ravaged homeland and to encourage
the next generation of physicians to stay and help.
Schmid-Maybach emphasizes his foundation is out to make
an enduring impression.
"Our
mission is more than providing these young people with
money," he said. "It is to provide them
with a level of guidance, training, and experience
that will propel them to have a substantial and long-term
impact.'
