For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
M•A•C GLOBAL FOUNDATION SUPPORTS PROJECT TO STABILIZE FAMILIES,
PROVIDE CARE AND SUPPORT TO CHENNAI WOMEN AFFECTED BY HIV/AIDS
India’s YRG CARE and APLA to Join Forces for International Women’s Project
Chennai, India, and Los Angeles, CA, May 10, 2005 – AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the oldest and largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, and Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG CARE), a non-governmental AIDS service organization based in Chennai, India, have been awarded funding from the M•A•C AIDS Fund to implement a demonstration project designed to stabilize economically challenged families affected by HIV disease by focusing on the needs of women family members.
The money will be used to provide life-saving HIV/AIDS drug therapies and emotional support to women in Chennai and the surrounding state of Tamil Nadu who are directly impacted by HIV disease. The YRG CARE / APLA Women’s Project is a response to research into the needs of Chennai women, who cited sustained social support systems, medicines, legal assistance and other psychosocial support as their most acute needs.
In its first phase, the project will provide 100 women medical, nutritional, emotional and financial support as they wait for the availability of ongoing treatment and care provided by the Indian government and/or the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. An important goal of the project is to enable women who access its services to become powerful forces within their own communities for HIV education, prevention, testing and care.
"We are proud to be funding this project, as India is second only to Africa in the total number of those living with HIV/AIDS,” said Lilia Garcia-Leyva, executive director of the M•A•C AIDS Fund. “It is critical that we support the pioneers who are fighting the spread of HIV at the community level and we are confident that this partnership can make a significant difference."
The project will be led by Suniti Solomon, M.D., who along with colleagues was first to document evidence of HIV infection in India in 1986, and by Brenda R. Freiberg, a former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Board of APLA who became an HIV/AIDS activist after losing two sons to AIDS in the early 1990s.
Dr. Solomon founded YRG CARE in1993 to provide
HIV and sexuality education for adolescents and young adults, voluntary HIV
counseling and testing services,
clinic and inpatient services for people living with HIV, and medical and
behavioral research center. Recruitment of participants, trainings and delivery
of direct services will be provided by YRG CARE staff.
“YRG CARE looks forward to sharing resources and knowledge with APLA as we fight to keep alive some of our most vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Solomon. “We are grateful to M•A•C and to APLA for recognizing the great need for support as we respond to the most challenging public health problem India has ever faced.”
AIDS Project Los Angeles, which was founded 1982 to offer care, education and advocacy for people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS, will provide technical assistance, program design and evaluation, and fiscal monitoring.
“APLA is grateful to the M•A•C AIDS Fund for allowing us to meet desperate need with such a worthy partner as our guide,” said Craig E. Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles. “Brenda and I have both seen first-hand the amazing work that YRG CARE does for people living with HIV/AIDS in Chennai. We are humbled by this opportunity to expand their reach to support Chennai’s women.”
Facts about HIV/AIDS in India
• The estimated number of HIV infections has risen dramatically in India, from several thousand in the early 1990s to approximately 5.1 million children and adults estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in 2003.
• With approximately 0.9 percent of its population estimated to be infected with HIV, India is second only to South Africa in the overall number of people living with HIV/AIDS.
• A 2002 report by the CIA's National Intelligence Council predicted 20 million to 25 million AIDS cases in India by 2010, more than any other country in the world.
• The United Nations estimates that there were 2.7 million AIDS deaths in India between 1980 and 2000. It projects 12.3 million AIDS deaths between 2000 and 2015, and 49.5 million deaths between 2015 and 2050.
The YRG Centre for AIDS Research & Education
The Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG CARE) was formed in 1993 within the Y.R. Gaitonde Medical, Educational and Research Foundation, a public charitable trust. Dr. Suniti Solomon, the Founding Director of the Centre is a retired Professor of Microbiology from the Madras Medical College. In 1986, her laboratory documented the first evidence of HIV in India. YRG CARE has a stated mission to respond to needs of people who are not receiving care and support or education/information for HIV. The center now provides health care for over 8,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, visit www.yrgcare.org.
AIDS Project Los Angeles
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Founded by four friends in 1982, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.
The M•A•C AIDS Fund
The M•A•C AIDS Fund provides vital support to men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS. Since 1994, the M•A•C AIDS Fund has raised more than $44 million through the sales of VIVA GLAM products. The proceeds are distributed to organizations worldwide that provide direct care services and daily essentials to those affected by HIV/AIDS, and that offer HIV/AIDS education, awareness and prevention programs and support the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals. For more information about the M•A•C AIDS Fund, log on to www.macaidsfund.org.
####
