PRNewswire - November 20, 2003

Three Louisiana HIV/AIDS organizations received initial grants of nearly $125,000 from the Pfizer Foundation Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative. The grants are part of the $3 million, three-year Initiative to fund highly targeted prevention programs to underserved populations in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Grants awarded during this funding cycle totaled more than $1 million with ongoing technical assistance from the Foundation.

Although African Americans account for just 33% of the population in Louisiana, they made up 76% of new AIDS cases reported between July of 2001 and June of 2002. The 23rd largest state in the nation, Louisiana has the seventh highest AIDS case rate at 19.3 cases per 100,000 people.

"By partnering with organizations in small towns and big cities across the South, we hope to help slow the increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS," said Caroline Roan, secretary of the Pfizer Foundation. "We know that tackling HIV/AIDS -- the most catastrophic health challenge of our time -- demands that we work and partner together as governments and communities, and as corporations and foundations," Roan added.

"Prevention efforts, education, and behavior change are the only major [non-medical] vaccines that we have today against HIV/AIDS," says Molly Phillips, HIV prevention coordinator at Family Services of Greater Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, LA. African-American women and incarcerated adults, Phillips says, are among those most at risk for HIV/AIDS in Louisiana.

"The risk for African-American women is so great and the need to help empower and educate them about harm reduction and how to negotiate safe sex is also great," Phillips says. "Agencies like ours, especially in the South, must focus on prevention, especially primary prevention. This Pfizer Foundation grant is allowing us to do that."

The Foundation's new grantees in Louisiana are operating an array of creative programs taking prevention and education messages to the community. Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

* Baton Rouge AIDS Society ($25,000 - Baton Rouge, LA): The organization is using home health parties and providing other safe, comfortable environments for African Americans who are HIV-positive to discuss issues that affect them. That program is called Positive Works.

* Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council ($50,000 - Lake Charles, LA): The Council's Becoming a Responsible Adult and Reach One, Teach One, programs are using peer educators as trainers to serve incarcerated adults at three prisons and those who are in pre-release.

* Family Services of Greater Baton Rouge ($49,925 - Baton Rouge, LA): Incarcerated adults and juveniles, and those in pre-release programs at four facilities, receive support from peer educators, counseling and HIV testing. The prevention program at Family Services of Greater Baton Rouge works closely with probation and parole programs.

"The Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council in Lake Charles is among the many wonderful organizations in Louisiana working to help those affected in our community," said Representative Chris John (D- 7th District). "With financial support like this from the Pfizer Foundation, these organization can and will continue to play an active role in prevention and education programs in the community."

Since 2001, 46 percent of the estimated new HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S. have been reported in the South. While the southern region accounts for little more than one-third of the total population, it is where 40 percent of the people estimated to be living with the AIDS call home.

The Pfizer Foundation, established by Pfizer Inc, has worked for a half a century, in partnership with community-based organizations to ensure access to quality healthcare for those individuals most in need.

SOURCE The Pfizer Foundation

031120
PR031158

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .