ViiV Healthcare Awards $1 Million In Grants For Positive Action For Women In The U.S.

 Pilot Initiative to Support Innovative Community Projects Focused on Women of Color Living with HIV

Research Triangle Park, NC – September 5, 2017 – ViiV Healthcare announced $1 million in grants for Positive Action for Women (PAFW), a pilot initiative that supports innovative, forward-thinking community collaborations that break down isolation and stigma for cis- and transgender women of color living with HIV and link women to networks of care.1 While the number of new HIV diagnosis among women of color is declining, 80 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in women in the U.S. are among women of color.2 Furthermore, complex social dynamics and isolation have limited the promise of medical advances from reducing the impact of the HIV epidemic. Responding to this current situation, ViiV Healthcare has committed to address the disproportionate impact of HIV among women of color in the U.S. as part of our global commitment to support communities most affected by HIV.

“We’re thrilled to advance our company’s commitment to women and take another step in closing the gap in HIV care for women of color living with HIV in the U.S.,” says Amelia Korangy of ViiV Healthcare. “We’re confident that our grantees and their partners will be able to extend their reach and break down isolation affecting women in their communities.”

PAFW grants were inspired by extensive research in communities working to find new solutions that will make a difference for women of color affected by HIV. Organizations are being supported to develop Networks for Community Action and Networks for Women to break down persistent barriers for women living with HIV and engage more women across the prevention and care continuum. 

Networks for Community Action

• AIDS Foundation of Chicago is working with partners to develop a local action plan that successfully engages more cis- and transgender women of color across the HIV prevention and care continuum. Working in partnership with Chicago Women AIDS Project, Affinity Community Services, Stroger Hospital and others, the project will strengthen women’s leadership, create a shared data-collection tool and develop actionable recommendations across the system of care.

Networks for Women

• Christie’s Place is collaborating with others to enhance its nationally recognized, trauma-informed HIV assistance and navigation program, CHANGE for Women, to incorporate a series of vital empowerment, education and family engagement activities for Spanish- and English-speaking women of color living with HIV in San Diego.
  
  
• Iris House is collaborating with the National Women and AIDS Collective partners on the Love Your Life project to scale and customize campaign materials, create emotional wellness groups across the country and share strategies for addressing isolation and stigma. Partners include The Afiya Center (TX), Minority AIDS Council (SC), Voces Latina (NY), WORLD (CA) and Ribbon Consulting Group (DC). 
  
  
• Positive Women’s Network is working with affiliates in six states on the PWN Cares project to engage cis- and transgender women who are not currently connected to care through a series of videos and linked virtual “coffee table” discussions, a state-based strategy to support new members in reaching women who are isolated, and the development of a Trans-Centered Reproductive Justice Agenda.
  
  
• Transgender Law Center is expanding the Positively Trans project with partners in Detroit, New Orleans and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale to conduct a trans-led participatory needs assessment that bolsters leadership and advocacy, sharpens data literacy and expands local support networks.
  
  
• The Well Project is developing collaborations with healthcare providers on the Building H.O.P.E project to expand access to resources for newly diagnosed women through online content, peer bloggers, direct engagement with emerging leaders and creative online communities focused on women who are disconnected from care in underserved areas across the country.

"Positive Action for Women embodies an innovative, community-informed approach to addressing the urgent need for solutions," said Vignetta Charles, Ph.D., member of PAFW Advisory Board and chief executive officer (CEO) of education, training and research (ETR). “The grantee’s programs are community-driven efforts to address isolation that may impact women’s engagement with HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care.”

More information on the program and grantees is available at https://us.viivhealthcare.com/positive-action-for-women.

PAFW is part of ViiV Healthcare’s global commitment to supporting research and community programs that close the gaps in data, address social and cultural barriers to care and drive solutions for women living with and affected by HIV.

About ViiV Healthcare's Positive Action

Positive Action was created in 1992 as the first pharmaceutical company programme to support communities affected by HIV and AIDS. ViiV Healthcare is proud to continue the Positive Action programme and its valuable work with these communities. Positive Action works with those communities most vulnerable to HIV disease, including youth, girls and women, sex workers, gay men, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender people, injecting drug users (IDU), the homeless and the incarcerated. Our projects range across education, prevention, care and treatment-related activity such as treatment literacy and community/clinical engagement.

About ViiV Healthcare

ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established in November 2009 by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV. Shionogi joined as a 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.

REFERENCES

1. Transgender means a person who identifies with a gender different from the gender he or she was assigned at birth. Cisgender describes a person who is not transgender; cisgender women were born female and identify as female.

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV Surveillance Report – 2015; vol. 27. Table 3b, Page 23. Published November 2016. Accessed August 2017. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc- hiv -surveillance-report-2015-vol-27.pdf