The Bristol-Myers
Squibb Foundation today marked World AIDS Day by announcing 12 new
grants totaling $1.47 million that focus on strengthening
community-based services in sub-Saharan Africa for adolescents and the
elderly who are living with HIV and for HIV patients with comorbid
female cancers or tuberculosis.
The grants awarded through the Foundation’s landmark Secure the Future
initiative, which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary
of providing community-based care and support to people living with
HIV/AIDS, will support projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Swaziland and Lesotho. Since its inception, Secure the Future has
committed more than $180 million to more than 250 projects throughout
the region.
“As the global community celebrates World AIDS Day and focuses on
achieving an AIDS-free generation, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
continues to work with its many partners to make that goal a reality,”
says John Damonti, president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.
“Together, we are addressing the unique health care needs of people
living with HIV in southern and east Africa by collaborating with
nonprofit organizations in the region that share our vision of expanding
access to high-quality community-based care and supportive services.”
Adolescents and youth living with HIV often face social stigma and
discrimination, which can hinder their ability to seek HIV support
services and prevent them from pursuing life skills support, including
entrepreneurship and leadership skills development. For the elderly
living with HIV, the risk of developing other illnesses such as
hypertension, diabetes, asthma and cancer, and the threat of drug
interactions, is high. Both adolescents and the elderly living in rural
areas are faced with additional challenges, including access to health
care and treatment.
A project funded through a grant to Young Positive Generation of
Lesotho will empower youth living with HIV to take ownership of
their health and their livelihood by enhancing their skills through
training in business management, psychosocial support, governance and
leadership and cancer awareness.
Other grants awarded for care and support for adolescents living with
HIV or those young people most vulnerable to HIV will be implemented by
Youth Advocates Zimbabwe and SAYWHAT in Zimbabwe, by Super Buddies in
Swaziland, and by Salesian Life Choices in South Africa.
The National University of Lesotho School of Pharmacy Faculty
will integrate pharmacists into interdisciplinary health care teams in
rural communities targeting elderly patients living with HIV. These
teams will provide comprehensive education through medication counseling
regarding drug interactions and proper handling and storage methods,
home visits and facilitating group discussions.
Cervical and breast cancers are leading causes of cancer death in women
in sub-Saharan Africa. Cervical cancer rates among women living with HIV
are three times higher globally than in the non-HIV population. The
higher prevalence is due to co-infection with human papillomavirus (HPV)
that causes cervical cancer as well as other gynecological infections.
Between 60 percent and 80 percent of women living with HIV in
sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HPV.
A grant to Swaziland Breast & Cervical Cancer Network, which
made history in 2013 by launching cervical cancer screening services in
a rural community through funding from the Foundation, will partner with
the Ministry of Health and other collaborators to develop national
breast and cervical cancer awareness and clinical programs. A Rural
Health Motivator training guide will be created to ensure that ongoing
best practices are implemented throughout communities.
A grant to Right to Care Project will fund a program that will
serve as a focal point for training physicians and nurses in Ethiopia,
Swaziland and South Africa and improve capacity for cervical and breast
cancer screening in HIV-positive patients. The project will expand
cancer screening services currently provided in the three countries.
Since its inception in 1999, Secure the Future also has addressed
the needs of patients with TB as part of its HIV mandate. More recently,
the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has been collaborating with the
World Health Organization to expand its ENGAGE-TB program in sub-Saharan
Africa by strengthening community-based efforts in the fight against TB.
The ISIBANI Development Project in South Africa will work with
organizations in four districts in the country that need assistance in
implementing the ENGAGE-TB approach in their communities. ISIBANI will
build the capacity of civic organizations’ ability to provide integrated
HIV/TB services, care and treatment and transfer support, monitoring and
financial/program management skills to other community organizations.
Other grants focusing on integrating HIV and TB will be implemented by
Lengo Health Program and Shikaadabu Bamako in Kenya, and by Thabo Mwale
TB Foundation in South Africa.
About the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
The mission of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation is to help reduce
health disparities by strengthening community-based health care worker
capacity, integrating medical care and community-based supportive
services, and mobilizing communities in the fight against disease.
For more information about the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, please
visit www.bms.com/foundation
or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmsnews.
Copyright Business Wire 2014