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Gilead Sciences Launches Age Positively Initiative to Address Unique Challenges of Aging Population Living with HIV
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Dear Colleagues,
Today, we're proud to announce we're providing $17.6 million in grants to 30 organizations in the United States through Gilead's HIV Age Positively initiative.
Anyone who lived through the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic remembers the generation we lost. Since then,thanks to the heroic efforts of this community, 2019 will be the first year in which nearly 50 percent of people living with HIV in the United States are over the age of 50. That number is expected to rise to up to 70 percent by 2030.
It's worth celebrating that people living with HIV are now able to live longer, healthier lives. However, people living with HIV are facing a new set of challenges as they age, as are healthcare providers and the broader community of allies that surround them. One study suggests that by 2030, more than 80 percent of people living with HIV will face at least one age-related medical condition, compared to just 29 percent in 2010 — an under-examined, underappreciated and underfunded public health issue demanding urgent attention.
In 2018, Gilead hosted an Aging with HIV Advisory Board meeting to identify potential interventions that could be scaled to support the needs of people aging with HIV. Our meeting uncovered a range of challenges we could overcome by working together. That's why we've decided to launch HIV Age Positively and provide over $17.6 million to 30 organizations across the country - from healthcare organizations to advocacy groups - to ensure they have the resources to lift up the best programs that support this community.
Please look for additional information on this initiative over the coming months as we highlight the inspiring and life-changing work of our grantees. You can learn more about the program here and follow the conversation online with #AgePositively.
Thank you,
Korab Zuka
Vice President, Gilead Public Affairs
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Press Release
February 26, 2019
Gilead Sciences Launches Age Positively Initiative to Address Unique Challenges of Aging Population Living with HIV
- Initiative to Provide $17.6 Million to 30 U.S. Organizations to Elevate the Work of Community Groups and Provide Support Needed to Strengthen Care for People Aging with HIV-
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FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2019-- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) today announced it is providing $17.6 million in grants to 30 organizations in the United States through the Gilead HIV Age Positively initiative. This effort aims to enhance the lives of individuals aging with HIV by focusing in three priority areas: improving care coordination, increasing resources for better well-being, and educating and informing policies that impact people living and aging with HIV. Estimates suggest that by 2030, more than 80 percent of people living with HIV will face at least one age-related medical condition, compared to just 29 percent in 2010.
"Community partners who work tirelessly to improve the lives of people living with HIV inspire us all," said Amy Flood, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Gilead. "Gilead understands science alone is not enough to help people lead longer, healthier lives. That's why we work together with advocates, healthcare providers and community organizations to identify the unique challenges people aging with HIV experience and dedicate resources to maximize impact in communities across the country."
The HIV Age Positively grantees include longtime advocacy organizations, who are now better equipped to provide life-saving services to their communities, as well as newer organizations that add to the overall effort to strengthen care and services for this growing population. Each grantee was selected for their unique ability to articulate interventions that have the potential to transform the quality of life for people aging with HIV.
"Anyone who lived through the 1980s and '90s remembers the generation of Americans we lost to the HIV epidemic and the heroic work this community has done together to increase the life expectancy of people living with HIV," said Kelsey Louie, Chief Executive Officer, Gay Men's Health Crisis. "As they have in the past, Gilead brought experts together, listened to what our community needed and identified the organizations best equipped to tackle specific problems. Funding from HIV Age Positively is going to help long-term survivors combat loneliness, obtain access to the resources and support they need and create better, more personalized healthcare. Everyone deserves to live a long and healthy life and this program is going to help make that possible for countless people living and aging with HIV."
Aging people living with HIV face a unique set of challenges, and healthcare providers and the broader community of allies need additional resources to meet their needs. As part of the HIV Age Positively effort, Gilead convened an advisory board of experts with deep insights into the subject of aging with HIV.
"The advisory board created a space for leaders to come together and address these unmet needs of people aging with HIV," said Stephen Karpiak, Ph.D., Senior Director of Research at ACRIA Center on HIV and Aging at GMHC, and a member of the advisory board. "By spotlighting and uplifting potential interventions, we aim to shine a bright new light on the too often forgotten and marginalized community of people aging with HIV: the challenges they face, the resources they need and the support they deserve."
The advisory board members included healthcare providers, researchers and community advocates from AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), Test Positive Awareness Network (TPAN), the University of Pittsburgh, Boston University, ACRIA, University of California, San Diego, HTW Campaign, SAGE and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
This group determined that addressing the interrelated challenges within our healthcare system and the general HIV community, like stigma, loneliness and better coordination of care, is essential in reaching a viable solution to these challenges.
Recipient grantees include:
• Abounding Prosperity - Dallas, TX
• The AIDS Institute, Inc. - Nationwide
• AIDS Project - New Haven, CT
• American Indian Community House, Inc. - Nationwide
• APLA Health & Wellness - California Statewide
• The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care - Nationwide
• Borrego Community Health Foundation - Southern California
• Cascade AIDS Project - Oregon and Southwest Washington
• Center for Health Justice, Inc. - Los Angeles, CA
• Community Healthcare Network, Inc. - New York, NY
• Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc. - San Diego, CA
• Gay Men's Health Crisis - Nationwide
• HealthHIV - Nationwide
• Hektoen Institute for Medical Research - Chicago, IL
• Legal Aid Service of Broward County, Inc. - Broward County, FL
• Montefiore Medical Center - New York, NY
• My Brother's Keeper - Mississippi (Statewide)
• New Orleans Advocates for GLBT Elders (NOAGE) - New Orleans, LA
• Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV & AIDS - Nationwide
• Project Open Hand - San Francisco, CA
• Regents of the University of California at San Diego - San Diego, CA
• SAGE - Nationwide
• San Francisco AIDS Foundation - San Francisco, CA
• Shanti Project, Inc. - San Francisco, CA
• Thrive SS, Inc. - Nationwide
• Test Positive Awareness Network, Inc.- Chicago, IL
• University of California, San Francisco - San Francisco, CA
• University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation Inc. - Baltimore, MD
• Us Helping Us - People Into Living, Inc. - Washington, DC
• Washington Hospital Center Corporation - Washington, DC
For more information visit:
https://www.gilead.com/purpose/partnerships-and-community/hiv-age-positively
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
Source: Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Media
Chris Ridley
(650) 235-2220
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