Gilead and the Human Rights Campaign Will Work Together to Combat HIV Epidemic and Promote Transgender Justice
February 02 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) and the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, today
announced that Gilead will provide a $3.2 million grant over two
years to support communities disproportionately impacted by the HIV
epidemic in the United States, particularly communities of color.
Gilead will directly fund the efforts of the HRC Foundation – HRC’s
educational arm – aimed at ending the HIV epidemic, as well as fund
the organization’s Transgender Justice Initiative.
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This innovative initiative builds on core strengths of each
organization, including Gilead’s long-standing efforts to address
healthcare disparities and HRC’s leadership in advancing justice
for LGBTQ+ communities for more than 40 years. It also builds on
HRC’s commitment to programmatic work that actively challenges
systems, laws and policies that disproportionately disadvantage
LGBTQ+ people of color. Through this initiative, HRC will launch a
public education campaign to change the narrative by focusing on
dismantling stigma and discrimination while developing and
advancing an inclusive public policy that addresses
non-discrimination measures and healthcare disparities among LGBTQ+
communities.
“Too often, institutional racism and anti-LGBTQ+ bias have been
barriers to comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment strategies,”
said Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign. “This
grant will allow the Human Rights Campaign to work directly with
community partners, Historically Black Colleges and Universities,
and youth serving professionals – especially those in Black and
Latinx communities in the South and around the country – to
increase awareness of HIV treatment and prevention options in order
to reduce health disparities, and combat the discrimination and
stigma that too often leads to fatal violence against transgender
women of color.”
“Gilead is committed to promoting social justice and racial
equity for the patients and communities we serve, as well as for
our own employees,” said Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Gilead Sciences. “The grant to HRC builds on our
commitment to advance equity in healthcare, particularly in Black
communities and other communities of color that are
disproportionately affected by HIV and other diseases.”
Stigma, homophobia and transphobia, racism, and lack of access
to appropriate healthcare services are barriers to comprehensive
HIV prevention and care. This particularly impacts the 1 in 4
Latino gay and bisexual cisgender men and 1 in 2 Black gay and
bisexual cisgender men who will be diagnosed with HIV in their
lifetime. The funding from Gilead will enable HRC to work directly
with these communities in the Southern U.S. and around the country,
with partners including Us Helping Us in Washington, D.C. and
Prince George’s County, Maryland; Brotherhood Incorporated in New
Orleans; TruEvolution in Riverside, California; Arianna’s Center in
Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico; Community Health PIER in
Greenville, Mississippi; and BU Wellness Network in Indianapolis.
In addition, through this work, HRC will partner with more than 30
Historically Black Colleges and Universities to supplement their
efforts in providing HIV prevention education and resources to
students. The funding will also support HRC’s Transgender Justice
Initiative, which seeks to address the urgent needs of the
transgender community, with specific attention to individuals
deeply impacted by racism, sexism and transphobia.
HRC will host a virtual summit on February 23 featuring Alphonso
David, HRC President and Shanell McGoy, Director, Public Affairs at
Gilead, as well as advocates and community-based organization
leaders, to discuss the efforts to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the
U.S.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical
company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative
medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to
transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening
illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35
countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
For more than 30 years, Gilead has been a leading innovator in the
field of HIV.
Gilead’s social justice work includes a number of initiatives
aimed at promoting equity, particularly healthcare equity, for
individuals in underserved communities. The company has committed
more than $100 million over 10 years through the Gilead COMPASS
Initiative® to community organizations in the Southern United
States working to combat HIV/AIDS and in 2019 started the
TRANScend® Community Impact Fund to support organizations committed
to improving the safety, health and wellness of the transgender
community. In 2020, Gilead launched the Racial Equity Community
Impact Fund, which is providing $10 million in funding to 20
organizations working to tackle racial inequities affecting Black
communities across the United States.
About the Human Rights Campaign
Foundation
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of
America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve
equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
Through 11 programs and initiatives, we seek to make
transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ people, with
a clear focus on multiply marginalized people. We have transformed
the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 10 million
elementary school students, 600,000 clients in the adoption and
foster care system, and so much more. We work each day to shed
light on injustice and deepen the public’s understanding. We
provide direct consultation and technical assistance to
institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive
policies and practices. We build the capacity of future leaders and
allies through fellowship and training programs. And, with the firm
belief that we are stronger working together, we forge partnerships
with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our
impact and shape the future of our work.
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Gilead Contact: Chris Ridley, Media (650) 235-2220 HRC
Contact: Elizabeth Bibi, Media (914) 874-6865
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