On the 10 of September the Elton John Aids Foundation with Gilead Sciences announced the launch of a new project RADIAN. This major project aims to bring support to Eastern Europe & Central Asia, where the AIDS epidemic is on the rise.
A ground-breaking initiative
The global community now has the tools to meaningfully address new HIV infections; however, HIV is on the rise in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). To address the challenges in EECA and ensure no one is left behind in the global effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Gilead Sciences have partnered together in a ground-breaking initiative called RADIAN.
RADIAN is a natural evolution of the existing collaboration between the Foundation and Gilead in the EECA Key Populations (EECAKP) fund, which gave the organisations a greater understanding of the urgent needs in EECA and the necessary experience to respond. The RADIAN partnership will provide investment, support and on-the-ground resources over the next five years to support interventions and drive measurable impact in EECA.
Model Cities
RADIAN consists of two programs: ‘Model Cities’ and the RADIAN ‘Unmet Need’ Fund. The programme will support innovative approaches, including new models of care and expanded prevention and healthcare programmes, led by groups who are on-the-ground and part of the community. The first RADIAN ‘Model City’ will be Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Additional ‘Model Cities’ will be announced in 2020
The Radian Unmet Need Fund
The RADIAN ‘Unmet Need’ fund will support local initiatives across the EECA region and beyond the select ‘Model Cities’. Initiatives selected will focus on prevention and care, education, community empowerment, and novel partnerships. The programme will be implemented locally, working with key stakeholders and partners.
The project encourages local and regional organisations in EECA who share its vision of significantly improving the quality of care for PLHIV, addressing new HIV infections and AIDS deaths to apply for grant funding when the Request for Proposals opens in mid-October 2019. Best practices and learnings from the local implementation of RADIAN over the next five years will be used as a blueprint towards creating change across the region.
