AHF Milestone: 502,237 Lives in Care!
As of November 13th, AIDS Healthcare
Foundation is now providing lifesaving HIV/AIDS care and services,
including antiretroviral treatment, to over half a million people in 36
countries around the globe.
Dedicated network of AHF global partner organizations aid in rapid
scale up of lifesaving treatment; AHF’s prior benchmark—250,000 people
in care—was reached in November 2013, just two short years ago.
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As the 27th observation of World AIDS Day approaches December
1st, AIDS
Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is honored to announce that a major
milestone in AHF’s mission has been reached: As of November 13th, AHF is
providing lifesaving HIV/AIDS medical care and services to 502,237
patients in 36 countries worldwide in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Latin
America/Caribbean and Asia.
“Today, AHF celebrates a day we never knew would come: We are now
reaching over half-a-million men, women and children with lifesaving
medical care in thirty-six countries around the world—a remarkable
accomplishment that only a great team of patients, medical providers,
staff and volunteers could have made possible,” said Michael Weinstein,
AHF’s President. “500,000 patients in care is one of the greatest
accomplishments in the 28-year history of AHF. Just two years ago, we
celebrated 250,000 patients in care. To now reach over twice that number
of lives is incredible. We celebrate today, and as we carry on, I am
confident that the leadership of AHF’s domestic and global programs has
the capability, and the will, to take us to one million lives in care
over the next five years.”
“Congratulations to all of the AHF staff, Board members, volunteers,
partners and our patients for contributing your best to help AHF meet
this milestone,” said Cynthia Davis, MPH, Assistant Professor and
Program Director, Medical Science Institute, Charles R. Drew University
of Medicine and Science and Chair of AHF’s Board of Directors. “We look
forward to celebrating this milestone at most if not all AHF sites
across the globe on World AIDS Day.”
“Families kept together as men and women now continue their daily work
and lives. Children not orphaned because parents now have treatment—and
hope. These are just some of the realities, some of the lives saved
thanks to AHF’s presence in the countries where we currently operate in
around the globe,” said Penninah Iutung Amor, M.D., Africa Bureau
Chief for AHF, on the continent where almost half of AHF patients are
located. “As an expert in the delivery of HIV/AIDS medical care and an
influential advocate, AHF will continue to be at the forefront of
efforts to control AIDS globally.”
“That this achievement has been made possible in such a short period of
time is testament to the spirit and perseverance of so many at AHF who
have worked countless hours toward this goal,” added Jorge Saavedra
M.D., Global Ambassador for AHF and former Director of Mexico’s
national AIDS program “It is this same spirit that will keep AHF
forging ahead as we continue to expand our reach and our work toward
saving even more and more lives around the globe.”
AHF celebrated the earlier milestone of 250,000 patients in care on
November 27, 2013. In the two short intervening years until today’s
announcement, AHF doubled the number of patients it reaches.
Prior to that, AHF marked 100,000 patients in care worldwide on April 8,
2009, when AHF operated in just 21 countries and with only 65 clinics total
worldwide.
AHF provides medical care and services in nearly 300 global clinics in
35 other countries including:
THE AMERICAS—10 countries, including: Argentina,
Brazil,
Dominican
Republic, Guatemala,
Haiti,
Jamaica,
Mexico,
Paraguay
and Peru
(as well as the previously cited United States).
AFRICA—11 countries, including: Ethiopia,
Kenya,
Lesotho,
Liberia,
Nigeria,
Rwanda,
Sierra
Leone, South
Africa, Swaziland,
Uganda
and Zambia.
ASIA—8 countries, including: Cambodia,
China,
India,
Indonesia,
Myanmar,
Nepal,
Thailand
and Vietnam.
EUROPE—7 countries, including: Estonia,
Greece,
Lithuania,
Netherlands,
Portugal,
Russia
and Ukraine.
In addition, AHF operates 49 free HIV/AIDS healthcare centers in 14
states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. (California, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada,
New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Washington [state] and Washington,
DC).
AHF’s Early History
AHF began operations in 1987 as the AIDS Hospice Foundation by a group
of activists in response to the urgent need to provide hospice services
to patients dying of AIDS on the streets of Los Angeles. By July 1990,
the organization had changed its name to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation,
as the need for ongoing medical care for HIV/AIDS patients grew. When
the advent of lifesaving antiretroviral medications ushered in a
treatment revolution in 1996, AHF began supplying these medications to
patients for free without guarantee of reimbursement and at great
financial risk. In 2002, at the invitation of local South African
activists, AHF opened its fist free HIV/AIDS clinic outside the U.S. in
this hard-hit country. In 2004, AHF declared its pledge to reach 100,000
people worldwide with its services, and by 2009, AHF reached that major
milestone.
Today, in addition to its clinics and treatment centers, AHF also
operates a chain of 37 AHF
Pharmacy outlets in 11 states and runs managed care and disease
management programs for people with AIDS or HIV in Florida and
California under AHF’s Positive Healthcare umbrella. Through AHF’s
Public Health Division, AHF operates one of the largest community based
free HIV testing programs in the US (155,842 free tests in the US in
2014). In addition, nearly three million free HIV tests were done
globally by AHF in 2014 (2,968,179 tests). AHF also operates 18 Wellness
Centers in two states (and three additional Wellness Centers in two
other countries) and also operates two AHF Dental Clinics in South
Florida and Southern California. The AHF Research Division has nearly 20
years of experience with antiretroviral (ARV) studies.
AHF to Roll Out ‘500,000 Lives in Care’
Billboards in Los Angeles, South Florida
To mark its 500,000 patient milestone, AHF is rolling out a celebratory
billboard campaign in Los Angeles and South Florida. In addition, a
newspaper ‘sticky note’ ad campaign celebrating the 500,000 benchmark
will run in newspapers in Los Angeles, South Florida, Washington, DC and
Atlanta around the observation of World AIDS Day on December 1st.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS
organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over
500,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the U.S., Africa, Latin
America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn
more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org,
find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth
and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.
Contacts
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ged Kenslea, Senior
Director, Communications
+1.323.308.1833 work
+1.323.791.5526
mobile
gedk@aidshealth.org
or
Christopher
Johnson, Associate Director of Communications
+1.323.960.4846
work
+1.310.880.9913 mobile
christopher.johnson@aidshealth.org
