[Ip-health] Pfizer Foundation Awards $7.5 Million to Community-Based AIDS Service Organizations

[Joana Ramos]

http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=3D176900012

Posted on May 1, 2007

Pfizer Foundation Awards $7.5 Million to Community-Based AIDS Service
Organizations

The New York City-based Pfizer Foundation, the philanthropic arm of
pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., has announced $7.5 million in grants
to twenty community-based AIDS service organizations (ASOs) chosen to
participate in ConnectHIV, the foundation's latest initiative to support
organizations working to stop the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS.

ConnectHIV integrates lessons learned from the foundation's Southern
HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative, a recently completed three-year effort
to support small to midsize organizations in multicultural communities
in the South. In addition to the $7.5 million, the foundation will
provide technical assistance and networking resources over three years
to ASOs that take a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention, access to
care, and treatment. The ASOs chosen to participate in the initiative
are in communities disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and are based
in the ten states =97 New York, California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey,
Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina =97 with the
highest number of AIDS cases as reported by the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention in 2004.

To measure the impact of ConnectHIV, the Academy for Educational
Development (AED) in Washington, D.C., and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health in Baltimore will partner with the foundation to
evaluate behavior change within the ASO communities. Behaviors to be
evaluated include actions around HIV testing, safe sex negotiation,
disclosure of HIV status, condom use, access to substance abuse
treatment services and support, adherence to medication, and regular
visits to healthcare providers.

"The Pfizer Foundation is providing national leadership by promoting
evidence-based approaches and is strongly supporting community
leadership by granting funds to community-based service providers that
know best how to reach those most at risk for infection and those most
in need of care-related services," said Frank Beadle de Palomo, senior
vice president and director of AED's global HIV/AIDS programs. "AED is
proud to be an evaluation partner for such a visionary program."

For a complete list of the ASO grantees, see the foundation's press release=
.

=93Pfizer Foundation's ConnectHIV Initiative Provides $7.5 Million in
Grants to Community-Based AIDS Service Organizations Across Ten States.=94
Pfizer Foundation Press Release 4/30/07.

--
Joana Ramos, MSW
Cancer Resources & Advocacy
Seattle WA USA
Tel. +1-206-229-2420
http://ramoslink.info/
www.cancersurvivorsproject.org
www.healthyskepticism.org