November 23, 2009

AIDS Activist and Health Professor Gilbert Kombe Dies at 49

Gilbert Kombe, an AIDS activist and a health professor at George Washington (GW) University in Washington, DC, died November 6, The GW Hatchet reports. He was 49 years old. His wife said a cerebral stroke was the cause of death.  

According to the article, Kombe earned his master’s degree in public health from GW in the 1990s. After graduation, he was an associate professor in the university’s global health program, where he became involved in fighting the AIDS epidemic in Washington, DC.  

As a native of Zambia, he dedicated much of his life to preventing HIV/AIDS in Africa, as well as improving health systems across the continent. Kombe started working in 2001 with Abt Associates, a multimillion dollar company working in more than 30 countries to develop HIV/AIDS health care systems.  

“Gilbert was important to us professionally and personally and had a great impact throughout the world as a clinician, a professor, a project leader, a mentor and a friend,” said Kathleen Flanagan, president and CEO of Abt Associates.

Search: Gilbert Kombe, George Washington University, Zambia

Scroll down to comment on this story.