UCSF Alumnus Awarded Grant for Humanitarian Efforts in Kenya

(adapted from a College of American Pathologists news release) Ronald M. Harris, MD, MBA, FCAP, FAAD, an alumnus of the University of California, San Francisco, was one of five recipients of the 2007 College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award recognized at a ceremony held on September 29, 2007, in Chicago. The CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award provides grants to members of the College, which are used to fund pathology and medical services to underprivileged patients in an underdeveloped area of the world. This grant will support the collaborative vision of Harris and the Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries (OFDC) to greatly improve HIV/AIDS testing in Nakuru, Kenya. This project was initially developed through Rotary International and subsequently with OFDC, which provides microcredit loans to women, educational assistance to children, and improved healthcare to all in remote, developing, and rural areas of the world. Harris has been a member of the OFDC board since early 2007and has made five trips to Nakuru, Kenya, in hopes of improving medical care in the region. This grant will allow Harris to purchase much needed medical equipment and supplies, which will increase the quality of HIV/AIDS screening for the region. In the Nakuru area, the HIV/AIDS infected population is estimated to be more than 140,000 adults and children. The Comprehensive Care Center there has a caseload of approximately 8,000 patients. "It is a great privilege to accept, on behalf of the people of Nakuru, Kenya, the 2007 CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award," said Harris. "The funding will help us make our dream of accurate HIV/AIDS testing available to the people of Nakuru and the Upper Rift Valley of Kenya." Harris received his MD from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1988 and also completed a residency program at UCSF. Related Links: College of American Pathologists Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries