October 15, 2005

International Medical Exchange, Inc partners With the Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN)

Washington DC — International Medical Exchange, Inc. (IME) has entered into a partnership with the Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN). The partnership empowers both organizations working together to mobilize resources and create links with International humanitarian organizations/charities, foundations, NGO's and international agencies along with other members of the local and international donor community.

The partnership seeks to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on victims and their families, and assist in the control and prevention of the disease.

Specifically, both organizations will work together to:

1. Mobilize PLWAs (People Living With AIDS) all over Nigeria, organizing them into support groups and empowering them to join in the national response with the aim of reducing and eventually eliminating further spread of the virus.
   
   
2. Promote awareness of issues faced by PLWAs with the aim of reducing and eliminating the stigma and rejection that come with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS.
   
   
3. Establish centers for confidential testing and create incentives for voluntary Testing and Counseling.
   
   
4. Mobilize resources for HIV/AIDS impact mitigation through availability of ARV (AntiRetro-Viral) drugs, opportunistic infection medications, food, nutritional/micro-nutrient supplementation and extensive economic support through establishment of group income generating activities: micro-credits and micro-grants.
   
   
5. Educate PLWAs on critical HIV issues, and the attendant diseases that complicate its infection.
   
   
6. Develop a Strategic Plan to obtain essential equipment, including vehicles and a primary Resource Center.

About NEPWHAN

	Dr. Patrick Matemilola, M.D. NEPWHAN NAtional Coordinator

NEPWHAN is the umbrella administrative body of all support groups (currently 128 total) of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA’s) that are registered with organization throughout Nigeria. NEPWHAN assists its member support groups to carry out their mission and activities, and is actively involved in the mobilization of PLWAs throughout Nigeria, organizing them into new or existing support groups thereby broadening its own organizational base. The goal of NEPWHAN is to advocate for the rights of PLWAs in Nigeria and seek to put in place comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and support services. NEPHWAN seeks a society where PLWAs are given equal rights and opportunities like every other members of society.

About IME

IME is a Maryland U.S.-based non-profit organization, which has successfully completed medical missions to Southern African countries and made substantive contributions to the development of health systems and health care delivery, leveraging strategic partnerships and advanced technologies such as Telemedicine. IME has played a prominent role in focusing the energies and expertise of health care professionals in the United States, particularly among the African-American community, in taking direct, concrete action to address the health crisis in Africa.

Since 1996, IME has held important conferences, in cooperation with the US Department of Health & Human Services, the World Health Organization, the Medical Research Council of South Africa, Georgetown University Medical Center, the African Telehealth Educational Project, National Medical Association and other partners in Nairobi, Kenya; Sun City and recently Cape Town, South Africa.