Campaign Calls on Individuals, Corporations and Foundations to Invest in Community-Based Programs Where Need is Greatest
Washington, DC (September 9, 2011) - Today, national
HIV/AIDS organization AIDS United launched a virtual campaign aimed at mobilizing
individuals, corporations and foundations to support those living with HIV/AIDS in America, especially those who do not have access to
HIV-specific medical care.
Centered on a new Make it Grow animated video (now live at www.AIDSUnited.org/MakeitGrow ), the campaign
directly calls attention to the 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS and specifically those who do not have access to quality healthcare.
Make it Grow supports goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and ultimately aims to increase individual, corporate
and private investments for AIDS United's Access to Care (A2C) programs, all of which seek to improve individual health outcomes, strengthen
local services systems, and connect economically-marginalized individuals living with HIV to high quality supportive services and healthcare.
"Over 50 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS do not have consistent access to care," said Mark Ishaug,
AIDS United President and CEO. "In this thirtieth year of AIDS, our approach can no longer be business as usual. AIDS United is committed
to developing solutions that address barriers to care, but we need to increase investments to implement sustainable programs that will
continue to benefit low-income and communities of color."
AIDS United is a recipient of a grant from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) -- the federal program that targets millions of public-private
dollars to expand effective solutions for the nation's most pressing challenges. AIDS United's A2C work is the only HIV-focused public
health initiative in the current round of Social Innovation Fund grantees. AIDS United's Access to Care initiative was created to
increase access to, and retention in, effective HIV care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS -- particularly
those living in poverty who know their HIV status but are not receiving HIV-specific care.
"Access to Care programs are essentially a redesign of healthcare delivery systems to produce two key outcomes; general well-being
and cost savings for people living with HIV/AIDS," Doug Wirth, President/CEO Amida Care, and a grantee of AIDS United's
SIF-supported Access to Care initiative. "AIDS United's A2C programs are more critical than ever, and through Make it
Grow, public-private partnerships will prove that they can create innovative, sustainable and scalable programs that
improve the lives of all people living with the disease."
