The Cause
During my military service in Africa, the suffering I witnessed had a profound effect on me. I saw people enduring unimaginable poverty, hunger and the devastating effects of diseases like HIV and AIDS.
Seeing this first hand really put into context what I'd seen in the media. While I was in Africa, I vowed that one day I would find a way to help make a difference. Discovering that some of the leading research into these diseases is done right here in Australia at the Burnet Institute gave me added inspiration.
The Burnet Institute focuses on curing and preventing the spread of some of the world's worst infectious diseases of global significance. Burnet has offices in Australia, Fiji, China (Tibet), Indonesia, Lao PDR, Burma, PNG, Mozambique and Thailand.
A big part of Burnet’s work focuses on The 'Big Three': HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and malaria which cause the deaths of seven million people every year. In addition, an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV and one third of the world’s population is currently infected with TB!
Burnet’s work combines world class laboratory research and practical, frontline public health programs in some of the most disadvantaged and marginalised communities around the world.
I hope that through this expedition, I can motivate others to support the Burnet Institute's outstanding work and help improve the lives of people living with these terrible diseases.
To read more on Burnet's work on HIV click here
To read more about Burnet's work on TB click here
To read more on Burnet's work on malaria click here
To read about some of Burnet's other projects, click here
