Updates

Founded as Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative, BIPAI at Texas Children’s Hospital  is the largest care and treatment network based at an academic institution supporting programs for children living with HIV. BIPAI Headquarters and its network of nine affiliated, independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) together provide pediatric and maternal healthcare for vulnerable populations around the world.

What if we could provide every child living with HIV and their family an opportunity to lead a healthy and fulfilled life?
 

We Can

Give To BIPAI

Thank you for supporting BIPAI at Texas Children's Hospital. Your gift makes a difference in the lives of children and families around the world.

Our Vision

Vision

A healthy and fulfilled life for every HIV infected or affected child and their family.

Mission

To provide high-quality, high-impact, highly ethical pediatric and family-centered health care, health professional training and clinical research, focused on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition and other conditions impacting the health and well-being of children and families worldwide.

Values

  • We allow nothing to distract us from our commitment to children and families.
  • We are true to our word.
  • We see opportunity in every challenge.
  • We refuse to duplicate or squander resources.
  • We never give up.
  • We respect and prize our partners.
  • We are hopeful and optimistic.
  • We focus on solutions, not problems.
  • We value teamwork.
  • We celebrate diversity.

The Challenge

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Access to Care

At a time when children did not have access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment, BIPAI partnered with key stakeholders and governments in the most hard hit countries to create a model for sustainable, high-quality care and treatment.


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Decreased Stigma

BIPAI provides support for children facing stigma due to their HIV status and educates community health workers and teachers in schools on how to prevent discrimination.


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Skilled Providers

At a time when children did not have access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment, BIPAI partnered with key stakeholders and governments in the most hard hit countries to create a model for sustainable, high-quality care and treatment.

Learn more about the Texas Children's Hospital Global Health Corps.


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Growing with our Patients

BIPAI has evolved and  expanded our model of care to grow and meet the needs of populations and communities where we serve.

Learn about the BIPAI Teen Clubs.

The BIPAI Story

In 1996, Romania experienced a high occurrence of pediatric HIV infection resulting from untested blood transfusions. Romanian children were dying from HIV infection at the time when new drugs - highly active antiretroviral treatment - were revolutionizing HIV/AIDS treatment  in the Western world. Texas Children’s Hospital was leading the way as one of the first to start treating pediatric HIV. Dr. Mark Kline visited Romania to assess this crisis and decided that children around the world should have access to the same type of care and treatment that they receive in Houston.

With initial support from Houston’s Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Abbott Fund and AmeriCares, the first center of excellence (COE) in the BIPAI network was created in Romania in 2001. Deaths among children with HIV declined from 15% to 1% and provided the first proof of concept for providing large-scale HIV treatment to children in a limited resource setting.

In 2000, the Botswana President Festus Mogae declared to the UN General Assembly that due to the AIDS pandemic his people were “faced with extinction.”With funding through Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Secure the Future program, the Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical COE opened in 2003 and treated 1,200 children that year. The model proved to be a success and garnered attention from other governments, leading to Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda dedicating six new centers in five years.

Providing access to care and treatment was only part of the solution. Africa and Latin America faced a severe shortage of healthcare providers. The Texas Children’s Global Health Corps was formed in 2006, initially as the Pediatric AIDS Corps, to provide pediatric specialists to treat patients and build the capacity of local healthcare workers at BIPAI network sites. With nearly 200 physicians deployed since inception, the Global Health Corps supported BIPAI’s expansion beyond HIV treatment and enabled trainings and capacity building efforts impacting more than 100,000 healthcare workers in limited resource settings in Africa, Latin America and Romania.

Today, the BIPAI network provides care to more than 350,00 children, women, and families through public-private partnerships in more than a dozen countries and remains the largest provider of pediatric HIV care and treatment in the world. This global child health network provides a framework for some of the best maternal and child health specialists in the world to share best practices and resources in care and treatment, medical education, and clinical and operational research focused on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition, neglected tropical diseases and other conditions impacting the health and well-being of children and families worldwide.

Where We Work

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Leadership & Partnerships

Michael B. Mizwa

Chief Executive Officer

Gordon E. Schutze, MD, BS

Vice President - International Medical Services

BIPAI Board of Directors

Claire Bassett

Chair

Kimberly David

Treasurer

Robert Corrigan, Jr

Secretary

Dan DiPrisco 

Member

Lance Lightfoot

Member

Partners

  • Abbvie Foundation
  • Chevron
  • SeriousFun Children’s Network
  • Simon Bolivar Foundation
  • Exxon Mobil
  • Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
  • United States Agency for International Development

Featured Stories

Botswana graduates first Ph.D. scientist in collaboration with BCM

The University of Botswana graduated its first Ph.D. scientist from the Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN) on Monday, Nov. 1, in Gaborone, Botswana. This achievement speaks directly to the recently renewed agreement between Baylor College of Medicine and University of Botswana and the institutions’ mutual desire to build scientist-leader capacity.

Texas Children’s recognizes partnership with Botswana during recent visit from presidential delegation

Texas Children’s affirmed its Global Health partnership with the Republic of Botswana and praised our mutual commitment to children and families during a recent visit from President Mokgweetsi Masisi and a delegation of Botswanan leaders.

Botswana, Baylor College of Medicine renew partnership

Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Botswana renewed their longstanding partnership last week during a visit from the president of the Republic of Botswana to Houston and the College.

Texas Children’s Global Health Network leads efforts that advance healthcare equity through innovative collaboration in care, education and research globally.

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