Working tirelessly with Aids victims in Zimbabwe
Professor Ruedi Lüthy studied medicine at the University of Zurich, where he later also completed his PhD and gained a professorship. For more than twenty years, he led the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital Zurich. He is one of the first and most eminent Swiss Aids specialists.
Confronted with the suffering of HIV patients in southern Africa, he decided to take up the fight against Aids on the ground locally. In 2003, he founded an organisation called Swiss Aids Care International. The foundation has operated a walk-in clinic for people infected with HIV and Aids patients in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, since 2004. Today, Professor Lüthy and his home-grown team treat around 5,500 patients in the Newlands Clinic, including mainly women and children. The specialists pass on their medical knowledge in a training centre attached to the clinic. More than 500 nurses and doctors receive training every year. Swiss Aids Care International offers patients additional support above and beyond HIV therapy with things like cervical cancer prevention and food packages.
Professor Ruedi Lüthy was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Bern in 2003 and received the Swiss Award for services to society in 2005. With his tireless efforts, he has permanently improved the lives of many people infected with HIV and suffering from Aids, making a major contribution to the successful battle against the disease in Zimbabwe.