The Republic of Uganda is slightly smaller in size than the state of Oregon -- bordered by Kenya to the east, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, with the South Sudan, Rwanda, and Tanzania to the north and south. About 38 million people call the country home.
But a health epidemic hit Uganda hard in the mid to late 1980s, when an estimated 35 percent of the Ugandan population was living with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. Around this time, Case Western Reserve University began a partnership with researchers in Uganda, resulting in more than 50 clinical studies, including the first HIV/AIDS clinical trial conducted in Africa.
This week, CWRU celebrates 30 years of collaboration with Uganda. Two key figures of this movement joined Rick Jackson on ideas to discuss how lessons learned during the HIV epidemic continues to have an impact in medicine.
Dr. Peter Mugyenyi is a leader in HIV treatment, research and advocacy in Uganda and across the region. He founded and led the Joint Clinical Research Centre, a treatment and research center specializing in HIV and AIDS.
Dr. Robert Salata is a professor of medicine at CWRU and chairman of the Department of Medicine at University Hospitals. He's an active investigator of HIV/AIDS-related research within the Uganda-CWRU collaboration.