AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, is proud to announce a major milestone in its mission to provide cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of a person's ability to pay. The organization has recently surpassed the 150,000 patient mark worldwide. AHF is now providing lifesaving medical care and/or services to more than 150,000 patients in 21 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific region and Eastern Europe.
"We are proud to have reached such a significant moment in our history of providing services to people living with HIV and AIDS. We are also humbled and honored to be the chosen provider for the more than 150,000 patients now in our care," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "AHF was founded in 1987 by a small group of activists as the AIDS Hospice Foundation in response to the urgent need to provide hospice services to patients dying of AIDS on the streets of Los Angeles. That we have been able to adapt as the epidemic has changed over the years is in large part due to AHF's dedicated partners and collaborators around the world. I wish to personally thank the entire AHF family for their dedication and commitment to helping save so many lives."
In addition to operating sixteen free HIV/AIDS healthcare centers in the U.S. (in California, Florida and Washington D.C.), AHF also provides services in Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Thailand, The Netherlands, Uganda, Ukraine, Viet Nam and Zambia.
AHF began as a hospice provider. When the advent of lifesaving antiretroviral medications ushered in a treatment revolution in 1996, the Foundation began supplying these lifesaving 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 first free HIV/AIDS clinic outside the U.S. in this hard-hit country.
"In 2004, AHF declared its pledge to reach 100,000 people with its services and achieved that goal in April 2009. To have increased the number of people we serve by 50% in just 21 months is a testament to the spirit and perseverance of so many at AHF who have worked countless hours toward this goal," added Chief of Global Affairs, Jorge Saavedra M.D. "It is this same spirit that will keep AHF forging ahead, as we continue to expand our reach and work toward saving even more lives through our health care services. It will also be the guiding force for AHF's advocacy efforts, which continues to result in increased accessibility to treatment for millions of people in need of lifesaving HIV/AIDS care worldwide."
As AHF increases its presence as a worldwide HIV/AIDS medical care provider, the organization's global advocacy has also expanded. Just last month, AHF's Chief of Global Affairs, Dr. Saavedra—due largely to AHF´s collaboration with the Government of Mexico and the Latin America & the Caribbean constituency to the Global Fund—was named Co-Coordinator of the "Global Fund Reform Working Group" - a committee that will report to the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with its first reform proposal in May 2011. This prestigious appointment came during the Global Fund Board's meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Reform Working Group held its first meeting this past Saturday, January 22nd in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the past year and a half the organization has also expanded its marketing division. In 2009, AHF opened an office to house its Marketing, Communications and Advocacy Departments—combined to form AHF Worldwide—and quickly became known for innovative sexual health education outreach, and groundbreaking HIV testing and prevention campaigns. AHF billboard messages have been appearing throughout Los Angeles, Northern California and South Florida. The campaigns contain simple and sometimes provocative messages—such as the question "Sexually Risky?" or the statement "No Shame"—coupled with a website address for those seeking sexual health information and/or services such as www.freeHIVtest.net and www.freeSTDcheck.org. These messages are aimed at increasing testing and improving prevention. They also serve to keep sexual health at the forefront of public consciousness, encouraging behavior change toward safer sex practices. Similar campaigns are scheduled for countries beyond the U.S.—in Eastern Europe, parts of Africa and the Asia Pacific Region—containing similar, frank and straightforward messages tailored to each community.
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