Who is Dr. Alex Coutinho
Jun 02, 2013
Dr. Coutinho is executive director of the Infectious Disease Institute (IDI) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. IDI conducts locally relevant and innovative research, training, and clinical care services throughout the region.
Dr. Coutinho is executive director of the Infectious Disease Institute (IDI) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. IDI conducts locally relevant and innovative research, training, and clinical care services throughout the region.
Under Dr. Coutinho's leadership, IDI has expanded its services throughout Uganda and has had an international impact on infectious disease research, treatment, and care.
Dr. Coutinho graduated from Makerere Medical School in 1983, and worked with the first cases of AIDS Nsambya Hospital from 1983-85. From 1986-89 Dr. Coutinho lectured at Makerere Medical School. Born in Uganda, Dr. Coutinho has been working for over 30 years to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in Africa and was recently named one of the 20 most influential Ugandans in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
He then worked in Swaziland in 1989, where he started one of the first care programmes for people living with HIV. He also established the first occupational health programme for people living with HIV in the private sector in Swaziland.
From 2001-2007 Dr. Coutinho served as the Executive Director of The AIDS Support organization (TASO) in Uganda. At TASO he was responsible for the scale up of TASO services for 100,000 clients living with HIV of whom 20,000 were on antiretroviral therapy.
He has provided counselling and care to hundreds of AIDS patients in Uganda and Swaziland. Dr. Coutinho was a member of the interim board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria as the fund was established, and he served as the vice chair of the Global Fund Technical Review Panel for two years.
He was vice chair of the board of the Regional AIDS Training Network and a member of the strategic advisory group for the WHO HIV/AIDS global strategy. He is currently a member of the scientific committee of the Academic Alliance for HIV/AIDS as well as a board member of the AIDS Information Centre — the largest VCT nongovernmental organisation in Africa.
Dr. Coutinho is currently also the Vice Chair of the Board of the International Partnership for Microbicides, a member of the SIDA Africa Regional Advisory Group, and a member of the Global HIV Prevention Working Group.
He has published a number of articles on AIDS service provision. He holds an MB ChB and an MSc from Makerere University and an MPH from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Source: Makerere University & Accordia Global Health Foundation
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