Dignitas International

Dignitas International is a medical humanitarian organization working with communities to dramatically increase access to life-saving treatment and prevention in areas overwhelmed by HIV/AIDS. Founded by a group of international health and research experts, Dignitas is led by Dr. James Orbinski, who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize as International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders).

Dignitas places an emphasis on the development of community-based approaches to HIV/AIDS programming in order to extend the reach and impact of existing health facilities. A community-based care model enables communities to overcome a primary obstacle to the delivery of HIV treatment in the developing world - the severe lack of healthcare workers in regions overwhelmed by the AIDS pandemic. It is by creating a supportive loop between hospitals, health centres and communities that the vast numbers of people who need treatment, with life-extending antiretroviral (ARV) therapies, will be able to access it. Dignitas is committed to developing and refining this community-based care model for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention so that it can be disseminated to other parts of the developing world overwhelmed by the AIDS pandemic.

Intervention research is conducted alongside all of Dignitas's programmes to monitor and evaluate effectiveness, improve programming, and inform the work of other stakeholders.The research conducted is focused on directly improving the lives of people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Dignitas also works with other stakeholders to conduct monitoring and evaluation of programming. Dignitas is collaborating with various partners, including the University of Toronto, to ensure rigor and high ethical standards.

Since October 2004, Dignitas has been treating patients and refining its community-based care model for healthcare delivery in Zomba District, Malawi. In partnership with the Malawi Ministry of Health, Dignitas has provided life-extending antiretroviral (ARV) therapy to thousands of children and adults in Malawi in southern Africa, a country devastated by the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Each month, hundreds of new patients are gaining access to medications that will not only keep them alive and improve their health, but also enable them to work, support their families, contribute to their communities, and allow children to continue their education.