Today expresses its sincere sadness upon receiving the news that our colleagues and friends en route to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference at in Melbourne, Australia, were on board the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that has crashed in Ukraine earlier today.
During this sensitive and solemn tragic a period with the loss of our beloved co-director Prof. Joep Lange, HIV-NAT would like to support its international family by sending its condolences to Dr.Lange’s and Ms.Van Tongeren’s families.
Amsterdam, July 18, 2014
With deep sadness and disbelief, we have received the news that prof. Joep Lange and Jacqueline van Tongeren have passed away in the tragic accident involving the Malaysian Airline plane over the Ukraine. They were traveling together to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Our sympathy goes out to Joep’s children, the families of Jacqueline and Joep, their friends and colleagues.
Joep Lange, professor of infectious diseases, had a long history with the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam. Since 1983, he worked as a specialist of internal medicine and a scientist deeply involved in the evolving AIDS epidemic. He was one of the key global figures in the AIDS research. After a short time at the WHO in Geneva as Chief of Clinical Research and Drug Development at the Global Program on AIDS, he returned to Amsterdam where he continued with great enthusiasm, vision and pioneering spirit in the fight against AIDS and other infectious diseases in developing countries. Joep was a person who knew no barriers; he was a great inspiration for anyone who wanted to contribute to fighting the tragedy of AIDS in Africa and Asia. Among other things he started PharmAccess and he was the foundation of the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), a cooperation from the AMC, the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He was also one of the founders of the Health Insurance Fund. One of his highest achievements professionally was the presidency of the International Aids Society. It was especially in this period that he found support and a reliable companion in Jacqueline van Tongeren as she set up many initiatives which grew into her role at AIGHD as director of communications. Through her earlier experience as nurse for patients with HIV-AIDS was she at home in this field.
We are completely devastated from this news and we shall miss these very special people.
In the name of the Board of Directors and colleagues from the AMC and AIGHD,
Marcel Levi
Dear Praphan,
I did not have a chance to meet with you in Melbourne – I once saw a glimpse of you when I was running to a meeting, but not after that. I’m not sure what I would have said if we had met. When I met David Cooper neither of us could find words to express our thoughts. However, I would like to send you my condolences over the disappearance of Joep and Jacqueline. Together we did great things – and you have worked with them longer than I have. I’m sure you will miss them – likely more than I. I rationalized that the best thing we can do to honour their memory is to continue on the shared path we charted for ourselves, and remember him as a good friend. Hopefully we will be able to continue doing so for some time to come.
With warmest regards,
Joseph Perriens
