ViiV Healthcare today announced a new request for grant proposals for the Positive Action for Children Fund. The Positive Action for Children Fund was established in 2010 with an initial commitment of £50 million over 10 years to support programmes focused on preventing HIV transmission from mother-to-child, and to better the health and well being of women and vulnerable children around the globe. Such work is closely aligned with the World Health Organization's vision for addressing the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and works toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals set to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. This new call aims to stimulate grassroots community action in support of global PMTCT community efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Earlier this year, the Positive Action for Children Fund awarded a total of £3.6m in grants to support 12 projects focused on preventing HIV transmission from mother-to-child, to improve the health and wellbeing of women, children and their families around the globe. This new call for proposals aims to support a broader mix of organisations with a focus on the priority issues in the priority countries to address mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In particular we have identified 14 priority countries for PMTCT interventions: Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, Burundi, Chad, Tanzania and India.

"The health of women and children affected by HIV in the countries hardest hit by the epidemic remains one of the most critical areas of unmet need that the community faces today," commented Dr. Dominique Limet, CEO, ViiV Healthcare. "The commitment of the PACF is to create a breadth and depth of new opportunities to support mothers and children in countries most in need."

AIDS has become a leading cause of illness and death among women of reproductive age in countries with a high burden of HIV infection. More than 1000 children become infected with HIV every day, during the perinatal and breast feeding period, according to the UNAIDS global report published last November. In spite of recent progress in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT), in sub Saharan Africa children account for more than 10% of all HIV infections. This is in stark contrast with countries such as the UK, where because of optimal treatment, management and prevention strategies, mother-to-child transmission of HIV has reduced from 25% to less than 1% (Townsend 2008) and continues to improve¹.

"This new call for proposals for the Positive Action for Children Fund presents a unique opportunity to foster innovation and support a broader range of projects and interventions in the communities where the need is greatest. We are hopeful that these new criteria will help organisations identify which projects and proposals have the best chance of success with the fund as they apply. It should also enable us to help a broader range of different types of community groups - creating a new community of organisations fighting together to support women in making informed choices, preventing the transmission of HIV to babies and helping children and their families currently living with HIV," said Professor Catherine Peckham, Chair of the Positive Action for Children Advisory Board.

About the Call for Proposals

The Fund will now operate three funding 'windows' as outlined below.

1) Core grants with refined criteria for applications - based on the greatest areas of need. These were identified by analysing the previous applications, together with the most recent research on the greatest areas of need in PMTCT. The Positive Action for Children Fund is looking for proposals for the following:

1. Community interventions addressing loss to follow-up in PMTCT


2. Community advocacy for gender equity in education and health


3. Community interventions to prevent unintended pregnancies


4. Community level interventions generating economic opportunity for women living with HIV and their affected families


5. Community intervention to keep HIV negative women negative


6. Community support to improve local early infant diagnosis

The deadline for core grants concept notes is 4th March, 2011.

2) A new opportunity for 'smaller grants,' for small community based organisations who previously did not receive funds in the first RFPs. The goal is to provide both funding and technical assistance to these organisations. The application process has been adapted to better reflect their level of organisational development and needs.

The deadline for small grants proposals is 11th February, 2011.

3) A specific call to address a significant need identified around gender-based sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The deadline for these proposals is 11th February, 2011.

To find out more about how to apply for any of these windows, and to apply, link to: http://www.viivhealthcare.com/community/positive-action-for-children-fund/grant-criteria-and-application.aspx

About the Positive Action for Children Fund

The Positive Action for Children Fund was first announced in July 2009 and builds upon the foundation of the long-standing Positive Action programme, established in 1992. With an emphasis on community engagement, ViiV Healthcare's Positive Action programme will continue to support global efforts to address the challenges of HIV prevention, tackling stigma and discrimination, building capacity and treatment literacy.

Following extensive consultations with some of the sector's leading non-governmental organisations, practitioners and policy-makers in this field, the Fund focuses on grants that pursue the four elements of the World Health Organization's (WHO) strategic vision and comprehensive approach for addressing the mother-to-child transmission of HIV, under these four headings:

• Increasing and improving primary prevention of HIV infection among women of childbearing age


• Delivering proper and equitable reproductive choices for people living with HIV/AIDS


• Interventions that prevent HIV transmission from a woman living with HIV to her infant


• Improving the health and welfare of mothers living with HIV, their children and families by providing appropriate treatment, care and support

About ViiV Healthcare

ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to deliver advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV. Our aim is to take a deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any company has done before and then 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.

Notes for editors

About the Positive Action for Children Fund Board

The independent Fund Board membership is drawn from the global HIV sector and community with strong representation from sub-Saharan Africa. The Board meets at least annually to consider project funding under agreed programme areas and funding priorities. Membership comprises the following representatives:

• Professor Catherine Peckham CBE FMedSci - Fund Board Chair, Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology, Institute of Child Health, London, UK


• Ayorinde Ajayi, MD MPH, Path, USA


• Florence Manguyu, Consultant Paediatrician and IAVI Advisor, Kenya


• Alejandra Trossero, Senior HIV Officer, International Planned Parenthood Federation, UK


• Winnie Ssanyu-Sseruma, HIV Coordinator, Christian AID, UK


• Frika Chia Iskandar, Independent Consultant on HIV/ AIDS, previous coordinator of WAPN+, Indonesia

¹http://www.nshpc.ucl.ac.uk/

ViiV Healthcare

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 and for people who are at risk of becoming infected with HIV. Shionogi joined 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 innovative medicines for HIV treatment and prevention, 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.

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