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Dr. Jean William Pape, a 1975 graduate of Cornell University Medical College and a Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College (as it is now called), has been honored by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan at a special ceremony in the General Assembly Hall. Mr. Annan, noting that he was "honoring heroes whose actions and courage makes the world a better place," praised Dr. Pape's "achievements, courage, and inspiration in contributing to breaking the silence on HIV/AIDS."

Dr. Pape, who is also a professor at the State University of Haiti, has worked in his native Haiti since the onset of the AIDS epidemic in 1980. He is a founder of GHESKIO (Groupe Haitien d'Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi and des Infections Opportunistes), which has championed education, health care, and HIV research, and which has worked closely with Weill Cornell since its inception. He also directs, in concert with Weill Cornell's Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases, a National Institutes of Health training and research program that focuses on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and diarrheal illness. He is the lead investigator for an HIV vaccine trial that will be initiated later this year in Haiti.

"Among many other accomplishments, Jean Pape has mentored our medical students for invaluable clinical training in Port-au-Prince," said Dr. Warren Johnson, Director of Weill Cornell's Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases. "No one could be more deserving than he is of this recognition at the U.N."

Dr. Pape was also honored in May of this year by the Haitian-Canadian Cator Foundation as one of 10 Haitians who have made outstanding contributions to the country. In 1996, GHESKIO and Dr. Pape received a special commendation, Dr. Leon Audain's Prize, from the Haitian Medical Society for their work in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.