Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and global HIV/AIDS and women’s health advocate Allan Rosenfield, MD, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on October 12 at his home in Hartsdale, New York, according to The New York Times. He was 75.

According to the article, Dr. Rosenfield urged throughout much of his career that more attention be paid to maternal and child health (MCH), particularly in countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS where mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is most prevalent. After speaking out on the issue at the 2000 World AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, he started the MTCT-Plus Initiative to address mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

Among the global initiatives organized at Columbia during Rosenfield’s tenure were the $50 million Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs, made possible through $125 million in funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).