ViiV Healthcare commits nearly £4M in Positive Action for Children
Fund grants for programmes focused on alleviating burden of HIV on
women and children
- 80+ grantees among renewed small grants to build on
successes and increase impact of ongoing efforts
- Programmes emphasise prevention, youth support and
community engagement
LONDON, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ViiV Healthcare
announced today that it has awarded nearly £4 million to 99
projects in 26 countries through its Positive Action for Children
Fund (PACF), aimed at improving the health and well-being of women,
children and families affected by HIV. Collectively, PACF has
awarded approximately £13.6M from 2010-2012 in support of 122
grantees.
Today's announcement extends funding for 2011 small grant
awardees and technical assistance providers, to help support
projects that continue to have an impact among the local
communities they serve. The Positive Action for Children Fund
renewed support for 84 community projects that are making a
tangible difference in 21 countries where mothers and children are
most affected by HIV.
Examples include:
- As part of the Youth Impact project in Malawi, eight mobile HIV testing sessions have
been initiated and 321 young men and women have been referred to
prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) educational
sessions, increasing awareness among this important
population.
- Through the Happy Children initiative in Zambia, programme directors state that 100 per
cent of babies born within services covered by the project over the
past year are currently receiving antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis
within 72 hours of birth and these efforts have prioritised
prevention in additional at-risk groups.
- The Women Friendly Initiative (WFI) in Nigeria engaged health providers in training
sessions focused on family planning, reproductive counselling and
PMTCT among other clerical and data management support,
contributing to the overall health and well-being of prenatal and
antenatal care of women in the community.
- By the end of June 2012, 2,300
individuals from the most at-risk populations were reached with HIV
prevention messages as part of the YAWIA Uganda initiative.
- Physicians for Social Justice in Nigeria has held 10 community engagement
sessions over the course of one year with community stakeholders on
the importance of PMTCT, and currently provides maternal and child
health services to 12 communities.
"Through the Positive Action for Children Fund grants, we've
seen how grassroots initiatives improve support and care for women,
infants and children affected by HIV. Part of ViiV Healthcare's
unique approach is providing valuable support to local community
organisations that are making a difference on the ground for the
communities in which they live. Programmes supported by PACF
introduce necessary and relevant efforts that contribute to better
understanding of the disease and more resources for those living
with it," said Dr. Dominique Limet,
CEO of ViiV Healthcare. "We're inspired by the work the grantees
are doing and are proud of the impact they have had thus far."
Additionally, 15 new large grants have been awarded that focus
on programmes to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV
including:
- Action for Community Driven Development (ACODDEV) in
Uganda, which aims to strengthen
community-based human resources to improve availability,
accessibility and continuity of local PMTCT services.
- Compassionate Swaziland will
lead efforts to educate HIV-positive adolescent mothers and improve
overall health and well-being.
- ProjectCHILD-Malawi plans to
roll-out a 36-month project to address and overcome causes of loss
to follow-up of PMTCT services.
- Rural communities in Nigeria
will receive more accessible and affordable maternal services, as
well as sexual reproductive health education for HIV-positive women
of reproductive age through the South Saharan Social Development
Organization (SSSDO).
- The Songwa PMTCT project, run through Wild4life will establish
a comprehensive community-driven PMTCT programme in a remote rural
district in Zimbabwe, where no
health or HIV services currently exist.
"PACF recognises a uniquely broad mix of organisations committed
to improving the standard of access to care for key populations
living in the countries with high prevalence of HIV. It is
encouraging that these programmes have resulted in the delivery of
sustainable, community-based services and support that have a
positive impact for many people living with HIV," said Professor
Catherine Peckham, PACF Board
Chair.
AIDS has become a leading cause of illness and death among women
of reproductive age in countries with a high burden of HIV
infection. Just under 1000 children become infected with HIV every
day, and 3.4 million children under 15 years of age are living with
HIV, according to UNAIDS.(i) Despite recent progress in the
Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission, children in Sub-Saharan
Africa accounted for 90 per cent of children under 15 years of age
that died of HIV-related causes in 2010.(i)
The next call for proposals for the Positive Action for Children
Fund will be announced by the end of 2012. ViiV Healthcare aims to
continue to invest in programmes at similar levels to provide
ongoing support of the UNAIDS Global Plan Toward the Elimination of
New HIV Infections Among Children by 2015 and Keeping Their Mothers
Alive, with a goal of committing close to £30M by 2015. Candidates
may register their interest here to receive a notification once the
information is made available.
Please visit
http://www.viivhealthcare.com/community/positive-action-for-children-fund/our-2012-grantees
to find a complete list of 2012 grantees and to learn more about
the Positive Action for Children Fund. To read more about how
current PACF grantees are making an impact in the communities they
serve, please visit www.viivhealthcareeffect.com.
About the Positive Action for Children Fund
The Positive Action for Children Fund was first announced in
July 2009 and builds upon the
foundation of the long-standing Positive Action programme,
established in 1992. With an emphasis on community engagement, ViiV
Healthcare's Positive Action programme will continue to support
global efforts to address the challenges of HIV prevention,
tackling stigma and discrimination, building capacity and treatment
literacy.
Following extensive consultations with some of the sector's
leading non-governmental organisations, practitioners and
policy-makers in this field, the Fund focuses on grants that pursue
the four elements of the World Health Organization's (WHO)
strategic vision and comprehensive approach for addressing the
mother-to-child transmission of HIV, under these four headings:
- Increasing and improving primary prevention of HIV infection
among women of childbearing age.
- Delivering proper and equitable reproductive choices for people
living with HIV/AIDS.
- Interventions that prevent HIV transmission from a woman living
with HIV to her infant.
- Improving the health and welfare of mothers living with HIV,
their children and families by providing appropriate treatment,
care and support.
A key focus of the Positive Action for Children Fund is to
stimulate grassroots community action to deliver and support
interventions, to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV
(PMTCT), to bring us one step closer to eliminating the vertical
transmission of HIV. Such work is closely aligned with the World
Health Organization's vision for addressing mother-to-child
transmission of HIV and works toward achieving the Millennium
Development Goals set to reduce child mortality, improve maternal
health and combat the spread of HIV.
About ViiV Healthcare
ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established
by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to deliver
advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV. Shionogi
joined as a 10 per cent shareholder in October 2012. The company's aim is to take a
deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any company has done
before, and take a new approach to deliver effective and new HIV
medicines as well as support communities affected by HIV. For more
information on the company, its management, portfolio, pipeline and
commitment, please visit www.viivhealthcare.com.
Media contacts
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UK Media inquiries:
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Camilla Bull
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+ 44-(0)-20-8380-6226
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Catherine Hartley
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+ 44-(0)-20-8047-5616
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US Media inquiries:
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Marc Meachem
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+1-919-483-5005
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(i) "UNAIDS Fact Sheet." UNAIDS Believe It, Do It: Get the
Facts. UNAIDS, 2009. Web. 3 Oct 2012.
http://www.unaids.org/believeitdoit/get-the-facts.html.