ViiV HEALTHCARE’S POSITIVE ACTION EUROPE INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR 2017 GRANTS SCHEME

Glasgow, Monday 24 October 2016 – Today ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Europe Programme announces the opening of the 2017 grant cycle. Patient advocacy organisations are invited to submit their applications for 2017 funding as from today with a deadline of January 31 2017.

As a testament to the strong impact of Positive Action Europe in previous years, ViiV Healthcare has increased funding for the Positive Action Europe programme again this year. A total of GBP 250,000 is being made available to patient advocacy organisations for the 2017 grant cycle, an increase of 150% since the programme began in 2014.

“ViiV Healthcare is immensely proud of the Positive Action Europe Programme. So far the initiative has supported 23 innovative grass roots projects across 22 countries through the three years the fund has been running” David Butcher, EU Medical Director, ViiV Healthcare.

Last year the programme attracted 75 applications from patient advocacy organisations across Europe - more than double the number of applications received in 2015. To find out more about the 12 community-based programmes that have been awarded grants through the Positive Action Europe 2016 programme, please visit the PAE Website.

“The Positive Action Programme is an immensely important initiative that aims to fight against stigma and discrimination especially at a grass roots level, where ethnic, geographical or socio-economic disparities affect those living with HIV the most” Dr. Laura Waters, Consultant HIV Medicine, Central and North West London, NHS Foundation Trust, member of the Positive Action Europe Board.

HIV in the EU

The HIV epidemic in Europe varies greatly across countries, within countries and across different segments of the population. The Positive Action Europe programme seeks to fund community-based projects that reach those most affected by HIV, particularly in marginalised or vulnerable populations. The programme uses a targeted approach to identify and respond to HIV-related issues at a local-level, supporting projects that are specifically designed to tackle the drivers of HIV in local regions.

HIV is still a growing concern:

• In 2014 the European region recorded the highest number of newly diagnosed infections in one year since reporting started in the 1980s.[1]
  
• The number of people living with HIV who are aged 50 or older is continuing to grow.[2]
  
• Social exclusion makes migrants highly vulnerable to HIV. Migrants who are living with HIV endure a double stigma, for being migrants and for being HIV positive.[2]
  
• Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a key group impacted by ongoing transmission of HIV in Europe.[1]

Please click for here more information on how to apply for a Positive Action Europe grant.

Multi-media links:

PAE Video

PAE application centre

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Notes to editors

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. We also fund action research into how these areas can be improved. For more information about Positive Action, please visit: https://www.viivhealthcare.com/community-partnerships.aspx

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 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

About GSK

GSK – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com.