“We are absolutely delighted to have secured the services of Matthias Widmaier, an experienced development cooperation worker with strong integrative skills who will fit in ideally with our organisation,” said Sabine Lüthy, CEO of Swiss Aids Care International. “The patients at Newlands Clinic need life-long HIV treatment. With Matthias Widmaier as Country Director, we are expanding the Clinic’s management team and putting its future on a sound footing.”
Matthias Widmaier brings on board a wealth of experience in development cooperation in Africa. He latterly spent six years as Administration Director at a rehabilitation hospital in Uganda. As Country Director of Swiss Aids Care International (Zimbabwe), he will lead the team of 65 local staff together with Prof. Ruedi Lüthy. The Clinic now treats some 5,300 HIV patients, and its Training Centre provides courses for around 500 doctors and nurses from across Zimbabwe every year.
Matthias Widmaier, Country Director of Swiss Aids Care International (Zimbabwe): “I am really looking forward to my new task, and to working together with Ruedi Lüthy and all the team in Harare and in Switzerland. Newlands Clinic does highly professional work in Zimbabwe, and has changed the lives of many HIV-positive people for the better.”
Prof. Ruedi Lüthy, founder of Swiss Aids Care International and Newlands Clinic: “We were looking for someone who shares our values and who can run the Clinic in the future. I am convinced we’ve found the right person in Matthias Widmaier. Together with my daughter, Sabine Lüthy, he will ensure that our urgently needed work is continued, and I am very happy that this is the case.”
As Medical Director, Prof. Ruedi Lüthy will in future concentrate fully on the treatment of patients and the training and further education of local professionals. He will continue to spend most of the year in Zimbabwe.
Matthias Widmaier (47) has many years’ experience in development cooperation. From 2003 to the end of September 2014 he worked in Uganda for CBM, initially as a program manager and latterly as the admin-istration director of a rehabilitation hospital. Before that, Matthias Widmaier worked as a sports therapist and was Deputy Director of Dr. Loew, an institution dedicated to helping people with disabilities.
Matthias Widmaier initially qualified as a physical education teacher, and went on to complete a second Masters in Motology in Marburg, Germany. He has also completed further education courses in finance, hospital management, and leadership.