Johannesburg, 1 December 2008—Dr Ian Sanne, one of South Africa's foremost authorities in the specialist care and treatment of HIV and AIDS, has been appointed an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences of Wits University.

Among his numerous related activities, Dr Sanne is the managing director of Right to Care, a non-profit NGO specialising in HIV disease management, and serves on the World Health Organisation's HIV guidelines committee.

Dr Sanne holds an academic joint appointment at the University of the Witwatersrand where he heads the university's Clinical HIV Research Unit for adults – the leading facility of its kind in South Africa. He graduated from Wits in 1990 to later qualify as a specialist physician. In 2001, he became a co-founder of Right to Care, based at Helen Joseph hospital in Johannesburg, which supports over 100 clinics and funds the care or treatment of over 110 000 HIV-positive individuals.

Right to Care receives funding from the President of the United States Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the American distribution agency USAID and enjoys ongoing support from the South African government.

The Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Helen Laburn, said today, “Dr Sanne is one of our top researchers in the field of HIV infection. He is not only held in high regard in this country, but has numerous collaborators abroad and in Africa, who similarly regard him as an outstanding clinical researcher in this field.”

Dr Ali Bacher, chairman of Right to Care, said, “Ian Sanne has devoted his life to the study and treatment of infectious diseases and particularly HIV and AIDS – where his name has become synonymous with the battle against the pandemic. It is both fitting and highly appropriate that his alma mater, Wits University, has recognised this and has called on him to share his great knowledge and expertise.”