Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF)

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation seeks to end pediatric HIV/AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs.
Photo credit: EGPAF

EGPAF has been working in Malawi to reduce the rising number of HIV infections—using motorcycle couriers. Malawi currently has no national laboratory sample transportation network, and it is up to districts to organize the transportation of samples. EGPAF, with support from CDC Malawi and PEPFAR, is helping to eliminate transportation barriers and reach even the most remote communities through Riders for Health. Since July, EGPAF and Riders for Health have been working together to employ and train a team of eight motorcycle couriers to expedite the delivery of laboratory samples from remote communities to district hospitals and then return HIV test results to patients—including mothers and their HIV-exposed infants—making it easier and faster for people to learn their HIV status and start a treatment regimen. The program is endorsed by the MOH. Nicole Buono, EGPAF’s Country Director in Malawi, explained in a recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): “When it comes to getting HIV test results for infants and children, every minute counts. Riders for Health is helping us get test results back faster and initiate children on treatment to save their lives.”