ViiV HEALTHCARE AWARDS GRANTS TO MSM AND TRANSGENDER HIV PROGRAMMES LED BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY

London, UK, 11th January 2017 – ViiV Healthcare, through its Positive Action programme announced today 21 small grants to support Men Having Sex with Men (MSM) and transgender communities globally. The programme, which now works in 51 countries all over the world, awarded its second round of small grants over two years to non-governmental and community-based organisations .

For the first time, the Programme specifically focused on projects created, designed and implemented by either MSM or transgender-people in leadership positions to support their peers through community programmes. 14 MSM led and seven transgender-led projects were selected by a Community Review Committee following a formal call for proposals in March 2016.

The Chairman of the Positive Action MSM and Transgender Programme Advisory Board, Juan Jacobo Hernández from Colectivo Sol, said “This gives a unique opportunity to these groups: to enhance their work, to strengthen their capacities, and to reach out to more people in their work. Providing key funding to these key populations will definitely help shape a different response to HIV and AIDS worldwide.”

Selected grantees will receive funding to carry out projects that specifically relate to achieving three outcomes:

• Reducing the level and impact of stigma experienced by MSM and transgender individuals
• Increasing access to culturally-competent health-related services
• Enhancing the capacity of community-based organisations that engage MSM and transgender communities in reducing HIV

Globally, MSM and transgender individuals are among those at highest risk of HIV infection[1]; however, the World Bank estimates that fewer than one in -ten MSM and transgender- individuals worldwide have access to the most basic package of preventive interventions[2]. Prevalence rates among MSM and transgender populations are consistently higher than for men of reproductive age in the general population, wherever MSM have been studied[2], and scant data on transgender individuals reveals transgender women are 48.8 times more likely to be infected with HIV than the general population.[3]

To learn more about the Positive Action for MSM and Transgender programme or for information on how to submit a proposal for the next call for proposals, please visit: https://www.viivhealthcare.com/community-partnerships/positive-action-for-msm-transgender/

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About 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.

MSM and transgender populations are often stigmatised and isolated. Positive Action for MSM and Transgender launched in March 2015 to support interventions that will empower MSM and transgender communities who face significant stigma, discrimination and inadequate access to appropriate HIV care. Through the programme, ViiV Healthcare has committed to invest £2 million per year – £1 million to fund small grants and another £1 million for strategic partnerships– to support these communities as they develop their capacity to lead, participate in policy-making and address the severe health disparities and health service access issues affecting MSM and transgender individuals.

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 and for people who are at risk of becoming infected 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 innovative medicines for HIV treatment and prevention, 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.

Contact:

Rachel Jaikaran (UK)            +44 7557 290420                                                              

Global Communications

ViiV Healthcare                                                                                

Marc Meachem (US)            +1 919 483 8756

US Communications

ViiV Healthcare

References

[1]Beyrer et al. Global epidemiology of HIV infection in men who have sex with men. Figure 1. Lancet. 2012 July 28; 380 (9839): 367-377

[2]The World Bank Report. The Global HIV Epidemics among Men Who Have Sex with Men, 2011. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTHIVAIDS/Resources/375798-1103037153392/MSMReport.pdf. Accessed October 2015.

[3]Baral SD, et al. Worldwide burden of HIV in transgender women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2013:13:214-22.