Cologne/Nairobi. In order to fight the immunodeficiency disease AIDS, Malteser International calls for more medical personnel for the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS-patients. "Finally, anti-retroviral medicaments to fight AIDS are available. Now the issue is to support the patients dur-ing the treatment. Therefore, we need more specialists and health workers", Dr. Peter Schmitz, Chief Medical Officer of Malteser International, says. "Only if they are taken on a regular basis, the antiretroviral medicaments are fully effective; therefore it is especially important to not only give the medicaments to the patients", he explains.

Therefore, Malteser International qualifies specialists as well as laboratory assistants and com-munity health workers. They visit HIV-infected persons at home and remind them to take their medicines. "Those who take the medicaments can return to work and send their children back to school. For these issues, the HIV-infected persons also need help. By this means, specialists and community health workers not only make sure that the patients feel better, but also prevent that the whole family ends up in poverty", Schmitz points out.

In Nairobi in Kenya, for example, Malteser International can see how effective this work is. Here, the organisation has been treating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis with financial help from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Austrian Development Agency since 2003. They train the staff of the health centres in the slums and community health workers. "At the moment, we are treating around 600 patients with antiretro-viral drugs," Schmitz reports. "But the demand is a lot higher. That is why we need more medi-cines and staff."

Malteser International is implementing programmes for the fight against AIDS in eight countries worldwide and is also a member of the "Action Alliance against AIDS".

Attention editorial offices! Dr. Peter Schmitz, Chief Medical Officer of Malteser International, is available for interviews. Please contact +49 / 221 / 98 22 155.