Northern Initiative Positive Action Community Grants 2013
January 9, 2014 - ViiV Healthcare Canada's
Northern Initiative Positive Action Community Grants program recently awarded $50,000 in the first call for proposals focused on
HIV prevention education and awareness for Aboriginal men, women and youth in Canada.
ViiV Healthcare Canada launched the Northern Initiative in 2013 to support grassroots, community-based projects
that enhance care, treatment, support and prevention services for Aboriginal people in Canada living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
The name 'Northern Initiative' does not refer to geography, but underscores that the program is for Aboriginal
communities across Canada and respects Aboriginal culture, teachings and traditions. HIV infection rates among Aboriginals in
Canada continue to rise and are higher than the Canadian average. Aboriginals comprise 3.8% of the Canadian population, but
account for 8% of the Canadian HIV+ population.
Proposals were required to respond to a community-identified need, build on community strengths, be driven by the community
they serve, and implement GIPA/ MIPA (Greater and Meaningful Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS) Principles.
An advisory committee composed of Canadian Aboriginal HIV community experts reviewed the 14 submitted applications. The three
organizations selected to receive funding based on the assessments and recommendations of the committee include:
Blood Ties Four Directions Centre - Yukon Young Eagles
Challenge. $20,000. The project will develop and implement an Aboriginal youth peer-run sexual health
education program that tags from one Aboriginal community to another Aboriginal community in the Yukon, using the
Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network's Young Eagles Challenge curriculum.
Native Youth Sexual Health Network - YouthCo - The Indigenous
Youth Knowledge & Exchange Gatherings. $20,000. The two gatherings will assemble a total of 60 Indigenous youth
residing in Vancouver, Toronto and surrounding regions where HIV is prevalent, to share skills, build knowledge and
decrease isolation as peers responding to the HIV epidemic in their communities, with a focus on promoting
prevention methods, de-stigmatizing the process of getting tested, and building the confidence of
Indigenous youth in talking about HIV.
Red Road HIV/AIDS Network Society - Moving Towards Healing: Reaching
Aboriginal Youth at Risk of HIV. $10,000. This initiative will engage Aboriginal youth in British Columbia,
identified in their communities as being inter-generational survivors of the Residential School System and
exhibiting risk factors for an HIV diagnosis, by providing a workshop for cultural reunification, a
recognized resiliency factor in reducing negative health impacts.
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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 10% 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 .
Reproduced with permission - "ViiV Healthcare"
ViiV Healthcare
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