Bridget Nolan
Bridget Nolan is the director of international programs at Global Strategies for HIV Prevention where she works primarily in post conflict countries and among refugee and other vulnerable populations. This position has taken her to Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
In 2005 she helped to establish the first HIV/AIDS training workshop in a Liberian Refugee camp run by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). While there, she assisted in negotiating with the UNHCR the implementation of a Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program in the settlement of 47,000 refugees. Subsequently she evaluated the healthcare needs and obstacles among Haitian refugees and migrant workers living in the Dominican Republic near the border area.
During the past year and a half, she has focused on establishing HIV programs in eastern Democratic Republic in the Congo. In 2006, she met with the head of the National AIDS Program to obtain approval to begin the first HIV program in two specific health zones in eastern Congo — areas that have been particularly hard hit by the nine-year war.
Projects in eastern Congo provided a variety of unique experiences to Nolan, including establishing pediatric HIV treatment programs with the Clinton Foundation, working with local grassroots organizations to develop prevention programs, and negotiating pricing structures for implementing antiretroviral treatment by evaluating generic vs. proprietary drugs. In addition, she has collaborated with local groups to create HIV related educational radio programs in a variety of languages (French, Ki-Swahili, Lingala, Kinya-rwanda, etc.) that are broadcast throughout Congo and other francophone countries.
Nolan continues to focus on projects related to HIV prevention and care, especially as they affect women and children. A significant aspect of her current activities include advocacy. She is working with U.S. Congressman McDermott’s office to set up an official site visit to eastern Congo, and developing a nutrition program for severely malnourished children beginning antiretroviral treatment.
Nolan completed her degree in government/international relations at California State University, Sacramento.