10 Social Enterprises Fighting Against HIV/AIDS

AIDS is a battle which cannot be won by Science alone. It is a battle which needs to be fought by the victim and the people around that victim. About 36.7 million people are suffering from AIDS globally and about 40% of them do not know about their status. India alone has 2.1 million AIDS sufferers. Few major reasons for this pandemic are a lack of awareness, high ignorance and a multitude taboos associated with it. This AIDS day, Impactpreneurs enlists few social enterprises who are toiling to assist the infected people and build a support ecosystem around them. These enterprises are making people believe that the fight is against AIDS not against its victims.

1. International AIDS Society (IAS)

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• About: It is the largest consortium of HIV professionals from more than 180 countries who are working in response to HIV. They organize two prestigious HIV conferences; the International AIDS Conference and the IAS Conference on HIV Science.
• Campaign: They advocate, research, educate through the various initiative, programmes and campaigns.They are Towards an HIV Cure, Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER), Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS), Industry Liaison Forum (ILF), Nobody Left Behind, Youth Voices Against HIV, Differentiated Models of ART Delivery.

2. Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

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• About: It is an association of many independent organizations with a common motive to develop the vaccine which can put an end to the pandemic AIDS. Members work on the Scientific Strategic Plan and collaborate with researchers from this field.
• Programs: Science Strategic Plan is an initiative to escalate the development and research of the vaccine of AIDS. Their HIVR4P is the only global conference which supports biomedical prevention approaches like microbicides, PrEP etc.

3. ZMQ Software Systems

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• About: Hilmi, the founder of ZMQ Software Systems has developed an array of low-end interactive games makes the user aware of the discrepancies existing in the society. Hilmi has expanded his games in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
• Campaign: Hilmi’s HIV/AIDS awareness campaign creates awareness and breaks the taboos related to AIDS through powerful messages. The most popular games are Safety Cricket and AIDS Penalty Shoot-out for countries where football is loved the most. Moreover, for countries where no sport is famous, quiz game are developed. There is another interesting game called Mission Manager where an African boy drops condoms in villages as it is being chased by an AIDS virus. To download the game visit www.freedomhivaids.in. Hilmi has contacted National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) of India to make the campaign viral across the nation.

4. Naz Foundation

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• About: Naz Foundation focuses on the upliftment of women, gender equality (especially girls, MSM and LGBT) and provides support to AIDS patients Their mission is to spread awareness about AIDS by advocating, training, caring and supporting.
• Programs: They have various programs where they support HIV/AIDS victims to live with dignity. These programs are Care Home (home for HIV positive orphans), Home Based Care (to support families with or affected by AIDS), Trainings, Advocacy (to fight against discrimination of HIV positive children). They also have programs for girls (Goal) and, MSM and LGBT .

5. India HIV/AIDS Alliance

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• About: India HIV/AIDS Alliance strives to provide equality to HIV/AIDS, MSM and LGBT, sex workers, vulnerable youth and transgender, People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) and People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).
• Programs: Various HIV prevention programs organized are Pehchan, Hridaya, Abhaya, Asia Action on Harm Reduction (AAHR), Samarth, Wajood and Vihaan.

6. Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India (SAATHII)

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• About: They support organizations and individuals who are fighting against HIV/AIDS. Not only this, they support government organizations, civil society and for-profit organizations with technical, operational and financial assistance, research, knowledge transfer, networking and advocacy on HIV/AIDS.
• Programs: Programs organized by SAATHII are Elimination of Pediatric HIV, HIV/STI Prevention among HRG, LGBT Community Development, Care, Support and Treatment, Mainstreaming and Decentralization, Socio-Legal Protection Services, Sexual and Reproductive Health, HIV and Rights, Health System Strengthening, Advocacy for Universal Access, Bridging Knowledge Gaps, Fostering Partnerships.

7. Avahan by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

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• About: Avahan is an initiative of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where they focus on to reduce the HIV/AIDS pandemic in six Indian states.
• Programs: The program includes activities like distribution of condoms, providing peer-based education to social workers, providing access to HIV care. Moreover, they also invest in social media channels to break the taboo related to HIV and also fund Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) management.

8. mothers2mothers (m2m)

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• About: South Africa has the largest number of HIV/AIDS victims. mothers2mothers, a South Africa-based enterprise aims to eradicate is an initiation which aims to eliminate paediatric AIDS. Since, last 15 years they are striving to achieve their goal. Moreover, they have virtually eliminated it from their clients.
• Programs: m2m supports mothers affected by HIV/AIDS by educating them about HIV/AIDS and its prevention methods. Moreover, they also provide service during and post pregnancy. They train, employ and empower mothers with HIV/AIDS. These mothers are called Mentor Mothers. Mentor Mothers then educate other mothers on how to prevent HIV infection from reaching to their babies. Moreover, this breaks the fear of interaction from the Mentor Mothers.

9. LASS Social Enterprise Ltd (Leicestershire AIDS Support Services)

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• About: LASS is an independent social enterprise which works in the City of Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. They strive to prevent AIDS from spreading by promoting positive sexual health.
• Programs: They collaborate with other agencies to put an to the discrimination faced by AIDS patients. They strongly believe in promoting equality when it comes to people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

10. Equitas Health

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• About: It is Ohio-based social enterprise. In a very short span, this enterprise has worked a lot with HIV/AIDS and LGBT communities. 91% of Equitas Health patients are prescribed with ART as compared to the national average of 37%.
• Programs: Ohio AIDS Coalition (OAC) is a division of Equitas Health where they educate, advocate and support Ohio’s HIV/AIDS community. Apart from OAC, they also organize other community programs like Project Ink, Mpowerment Programs and Camp Sunrise. They also have other services related to HIV/AIDS like HIV Supportive Services and Wellness & HIV/STI Prevention.

To know more about such enterprises, visit Impactpreneurs.