In the U.S., there are approximately one million people living with HIV, one-quarter of whom are unaware of their infection status. Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Foundation continue to recognize the challenges presented by the shifting and complex dynamics of the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and are committed to participating in the multi-sectoral effort to reduce the annual number of new HIV infections. Building on the success of and lessons learned from Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Foundation's three-year Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative as well as extensive research, the Pfizer Foundation created ConnectHIV.
ConnectHIV is the Pfizer Foundation's latest initiative to support community-based AIDS service organizations (ASOs) working to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The Pfizer Foundation is providing grants, technical assistance and networking resources over three years to 20 mid-sized ASOs in the 10 states with the highest number of new AIDS cases: NY, FL, CA, TX, NJ, IL, GA, PA, MD, NC.
Pfizer understands that prevention efforts need to target both HIV+ and high-risk HIV- individuals and that focusing on the HIV prevention and care continuum is critical in decreasing new infections.
With more than $6 million in grant funding available, ConnectHIV provides grants of up to $100,000 per year for three years to support innovative, research-based prevention initiatives for high risk HIV- people that address interconnected HIV/AIDS challenges such as stigma, substance abuse and mental health issues as well as access to care and treatment adherence for people living with HIV/AIDS.
In addition, ConnectHIV provides technical assistance and networking opportunities to support the successful implementation of ConnectHIV programs.
ConnectHIV supports innovative and comprehensive programs along the HIV prevention and care continuum (see diagram below) for high-risk HIV-negative and/or at-risk HIV-positive persons and their partners. ConnectHIV funding categories focused on these four critical components.
Announced in November 2006, approximately 330 organizations nationwide pre-registered to have access to the ConnectHIV online application. To assist applicants, the Pfizer Foundation held two technical assistance calls in which more than 150 organizations participated; 115 organizations, representing all 10 target states, completed the rigorous ConnectHIV application. The ConnectHIV Review Committee deliberated over the many competitive proposals, awarded $2 million in grants to 20 grantees, and selected an additional 31 finalists to be part of the 2007-2010 ConnectHIV Network.
These new Pfizer Foundation ConnectHIV partners join the Foundation's Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative's grantees and finalists to create a larger network aimed at combating HIV and AIDS, in which all members are invited to learn from one another at the annual Pfizer HIV/AIDS Prevention conference as well as other ongoing networking opportunities.
All twenty ConnectHIV grantees are participating in a national cross-site impact evaluation that is being directed by the Academy for Educational Development and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In a collaborative process, grantees have identified common measures across ConnectHIV’s four funding categories, which each grantee will assess with their diverse target populations. The ConnectHIV evaluation seeks to identify its impact on relevant behaviors (i.e., HIV testing, access to HIV care and other needed services, safe sex negotiation, disclosure of HIV status, condom use, safe drug use, adherence to medication and regular visits to healthcare providers, improved clinical stability and quality of life) as well as the cost-effectiveness of the funded program interventions. The evaluation also seeks to identify best practices and evidence-based models for a comprehensive continuum of prevention, treatment and care services targeting both HIV-positive and high-risk HIV-negative individuals.
In 2008, the Pfizer Foundation is supporting a cohort of ConnectHIV grantees to represent ConnectHIV at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The ConnectHIV representatives will be learning and reporting on their funding category-related topics. The 2008 IAC ConnectHIV representatives are:
Funding Category 1: Prevention for High-Risk Negatives – Latino Commission on AIDS and STOP AIDS Project
Funding Category 2: Prevention for High-Risk Positives – Prevention Point Philadelphia
Funding Category 3: Linkage to Care and Treatment – AIDS Care Service and Piedmont Health Care Consortium
Funding Category 4: Treatment Adherence and Delayed Disease Progression – Chicago House and The Family Center |
