What Have Foundations Been Doing to Prevent and Treat HIV/AIDS?
July 21st, 2010
by
Lee-Lee Prina
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Earlier in July 2010, the White House released a new strategy for combating HIV/AIDS in the United States. Then, this week, the XVIII International AIDS Conference kicked off in Vienna, Austria. As we know, the disease affects people around the world. I decided to pull together some information in today’s post on what philanthropy has been doing to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. This is only a sampling, not a comprehensive listing.
HIV/AIDS in the United States
New Ford Foundation initiative announced in June 2010.
The Ford Foundation, which is based in New York City, announced “a $25 million effort to fight the disproportionate yet largely hidden impact of HIV/AIDS on marginalized communities in the United States,” according to a foundation press release. Ford, which has funded efforts to stop HIV/AIDS for twenty-five years, is focusing on nine states in the southern United States, plus the District of Columbia. Also, it will fund “efforts to address the spread of HIV among African Americans, women, gay and bisexual men and Latinos.” Ford says it aims to combat “the discrimination that allows the epidemic to spread.” The $25 million commitment falls under Ford’s Human Rights funding area and is slated for five years.
Luis Ubiñas, Ford’s president, said in the release, “This initiative aims not only to help stop the spread of HIV, but also to address the stigma and discrimination” that let the epidemic grow in marginalized communities in the first place, such as in certain communities in the South and in minority communities. Terry McGovern, a Ford program officer, added, “If we’re serious about addressing HIV in the United States, we have to focus on the places and the populations where it is spreading the fastest.”
The release also noted that Ford will fund national and regional groups to do advocacy work in communities most impacted by HIV—or, as Ford says, it will help communities “to shape policy decisions that determine how and where AIDS funding and services are deployed” across the United States.
For more information on this initiative, read the press release here. A request for proposals (RFP) related to Southern states will be posted on the Southern REACH section of the National AIDS Fund’s Web site in August 2010. To apply for other types of grants mentioned above, go to the Ford Foundation’s Web site.
Recent three-year grant awarded:
“$1.7 Million Initiative to Bring Vulnerable People with HIV/AIDS into Care,” press release from the New York Community Trust (a large community foundation), June 2, 2010. This grant aims “to bring primary medical care to 1,650 New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS who are not in treatment,” and help primary care providers to ensure that these patients stay engaged in a comprehensive health program. Bristol-Myers Squibb, through the National AIDS Fund, is funding a partnership called ACCESS NY to achieve these aims. The New York City AIDS Fund, a funding collaborative within the New York Community Trust, is the recipient of the grant. Len McNally, program director for health at the trust, is chairman of the New York City AIDS Fund.
Related resources:
Grantseekers: Potential Funder?
Ittleson Foundation. Please note that this foundation, located in New York City, has a very small staff. Read its guidelines and restrictions carefully. In 2010 Ittleson will award grants at its fall meeting (only); initial letters of inquiry regarding funding must be received before September 1, 2010. Here are examples of AIDS grants that the foundation has awarded in the past.
For funders interested in domestic advocacy:
Domestic Advocacy Working Group (DAWG) of Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA). This group for funders interested in supporting advocacy work on issues in the United States held its first meeting in March 2010; one of its recommendations was to “encourage large international funders,” such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Foundation, to fund domestically. DAWG plans to meet again in December 2010.
New National Strategy:
“Obama Promises Commitment to Combating HIV/AIDS,” Julie Pace, Associated Press, on WTOPNews.com, July 13, 2010. This AP story discusses the administration’s new National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the epidemic in the United States.
Syringe Exchange
Syringe Access Fund. Leading funding partners of this initiative are the Irene Diamond Fund, Elton John AIDS Foundation (a charity), and the National AIDS Fund. The next RFP expected to be in August 2011.
“Expanding Access to Evidence-Based Services for Injection Drug Users,” R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Jeffrey S. Crowley, director of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), post on the White House’s ONAP Blog, July 16, 2010. The authors point out that syringe services programs, which are a component of the administration’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy (mentioned above), as well as its National Drug Control Strategy, are also cost effective.
“[U.S.] Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] Implementation Guidance for Syringe Services Programs,” July 2010. This document is posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Web site.
Testing
National HIV and STD Testing Resources, a service of the CDC.
AIDS 2010 (XVIII International AIDS Conference) Vienna, Austria, July 18-23, 2010
Official conference homepage, including a blog and a Twitter feed reporting on what is going on at the conference—eyes and ears for those not attending.
FCAA Guide to Vienna: The XVIII International AIDS Conference. This spreadsheet from Funders Concerned About AIDS has information on more than seventy conference sessions that are focused on private- and public-sector funding in the areas of AIDS and global health, the affinity group says. Sessions include “Winning the AIDS Fight: How Countries Can Take the Lead,” featuring Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and Jen Kates, vice president and director of HIV policy at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF); and “Making the Case for Stigma Reduction and Moving to Action: The Experience of South Asia,” featuring Nancy Mahon of the M.A.C. AIDS Fund. Tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet will direct you to lists of sessions during different time periods. FCAA also is tweeting from the conference.
“Bill Gates: World Has Historic Opportunity to ‘Change the Face of AIDS’: In Keynote Speech to AIDS Conference, Gates Outlines Roadmap to Reduce Annual New HIV Infections 90 Percent by 2031.” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation press release, July 19, 2010, regarding a speech by Bill Gates at the conference in Vienna. Watch the video of his speech.
“Online Coverage of XVIII International AIDS Conference to Include Daily Webcasts, Live Coverage, Podcasts and News Recaps: International AIDS Society and Kaiser Family Foundation Partner to Offer Daily, Comprehensive Coverage of Conference for Free,” KFF press release, July 9, 2010.
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