Gilead Sciences, is a research-based biopharmaceutical company, has announced the recipients of its 2019 Gilead Asia Pacific Rainbow Grant programme, a regional grant initiative that supports community-led programmes for people living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region.
"This was the first time non-governmental or advocacy organizations in Pakistan were invited to submit their applications for funding. Of the 15 submissions received from Pakistan, Naz Male Health Alliance (NAZ), s a non-governmental technical support agency in Pakistan, is one of the three recipients selected to receive the grant," said a Gilead Sciences' spokesperson here on Tuesday.
Through this year's programme, Gilead is awarding a total of US $1.4 million to close to 40 projects across Asia Pacific. Of this over US $80,000 has been distributed across the three Pakistani recipients.
NAZ has received the grant to further efforts in their project 'Naz initiative to combat PLHIV stigma and discrimination'. It intends to alleviate the social stigma and to diversify the workplace through more inclusive HR policies for PLHIV. NAZ will develop a docu-drama and a supporting social media campaign. They will engage with corporations and conduct training sessions with their HR departments to sensitize them towards PLHIV and help them develop inclusive HR policies. Finally, they will also focus on engaging with universities to conduct an awareness campaign around the stigma attached to PLHIV.
Commenting on the grant, Dr Qasim Iqbal, Executive Director of NAZ Pakistan said, "The stigma and discrimination faced by HIV positive persons in a country like Pakistan is real. As a gay man living with HIV, I strongly believe that we need to re-strategize the programming to combat HIV related stigma and discrimination because the programming and interventions implemented throughout the globe thus far have not worked.
"We are grateful to Gilead for providing us the resources that will help us make life less stressful for the MSM and TGs living with HIV in Pakistan. We are excited about the potential impact we believe this project will make. With the generous funds from Gilead, we have planned to target the general population, employers and the youth."
Started in 2018, the Gilead Asia Pacific Rainbow Grant programme directly supports HIV-related community-led projects.
The programme is part of Gilead's broader efforts to enhance public-private partnerships in the Asia Pacific region to address the challenges facing communities affected by HIV.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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