The incidence of HIV and AIDS is on the rise in Asia, and some estimate that India will have the largest population of infected people by 2010. Despite a commitment from the country's health care leadership to stem the tide of the epidemic, the challenge remains to build the capacity of medical providers to prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV-related conditions and educate patients about the disease. The leadership of Wockhardt Hospitals, Ltd. (Mumbai, India), which works with HMI on a range of health care systems development projects, has sought to leverage their position as one of India's leading health care establishments to contribute to this effort.


In 2002, HMI and Wockhardt together formed an NGO called WHARF (Wockhardt-Harvard Medical International HIV/AIDS Education and Research Foundation) with the goal of developing educational programs to address the regional epidemic. Funded in part by a grant from the Horace Goldsmith Foundation, WHARF offers a series of free educational programs targeted at health care providers working to deal with HIV/AIDS in their communities:
  • WHARF has offered programs monthly since December 2002.
  • Program's faculty includes local experts as well as faculty from Harvard-affiliated hospitals.
  • Symposia and training sessions focus on the science and epidemiology of HIV-related disease, counseling and testing, antiretroviral therapy, primary care for HIV-positive patients, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, mental health aspects of HIV/AIDS, and the health professional's role in prevention.
  • Utilizes a train-the-trainer approach to maximize the impact on communities.


  • Since its inception, more than 1,500 people have received training at WHARF-organized programs. Those trainees have gone forward and trained 3,500 more care providers.
  • WHARF's programs have fostered the development of a core group of educators and leaders committed to advancing HIV/AIDS care and education in India.
  • WHARF has the potential to be a catalyst for other collaborations between health care providers and NGOs working in the region.