ViiV Healthcare Positive Action for Children Fund Awards 3-Year Grant to Karnataka NGO working in HIV prevention
Public Health Research Institute of India selected by international independent expert panel for grant aimed at preventing mother to child transmission of HIV
Tweet-- Today ViiV Healthcare awarded Public Health Research Institute of India a 3-year grant as part of their worldwide philanthropic program which awarded a total of £3.6 million pounds sterling for 12 proposals focused on preventing HIV transmission from mother-to-child around the globe. These grants are the first of a series of grants that ViiV Healthcare will award as part of the £50 million Positive Action for Children Fund which was established in 2009 and will run for 10 years. Such work is closely aligned to the World Health Organization's strategic vision for addressing the mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
The confirmation of successful projects comes following the inaugural International Fund Advisory Board meeting held yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya. The Board is comprised of independent experts in the fields of HIV, sexual and reproductive health and child health including clinicians, members of non-governmental and multi-lateral organizations and people living with HIV.
Since calling for initial grant proposals at the end of March 2010, ViiV Healthcare has received over 750 proposals from organizations in 61 countries. Spanning all continents, 12 projects have been selected by the Board to receive funding based on each projects' ability to deliver well-evaluated, sustainable, community-based services and support. Two of the 12 proposals receiving funding were from nonprofits in India: PHRII in Mysore, and Rajasthan Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS.
Chair of the Board, Professor Catherine Peckham, Institute of Child Health in London, commented, "The projects we have selected as a Board will make a real difference to communities affected by HIV. Some test new models of working which may be worthy of a wider application, meaning that their success can be realized not only during the funding phases, but hopefully for many years to come."
"We are very happy to be selected as a grant recipient by such a prestigious panel," said Dr. Purnima Madhivanan, PHRII's Executive Director. "This means that thousands of women who would have never received antenatal care and life-saving drugs if they are HIV infected in Karnataka will now be able to have healthy, HIV-free children."
Notes to Editor
About PHRII
PHRII is an independent scientific research institute located in Mysore, India, and conducting epidemiological research on infectious diseases, HIV, and maternal and child health. Chartered as a Charitable Trust, PHRII collaborates with US and UK universities and the Government of India on a variety of research, training and service projects. The institute has received recognition from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India, as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) and has received funding from the Indian Council of Medical Research, Delhi. PHRII operates a full service laboratory offering microbiological, serological and PCR services for diagnosis of infectious disease, and the Prerana Reproductive Health Clinic offering free outpatient services for family planning, reproductive healthcare, and HIV prevention to low-income communities in and around Mysore.