ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action and the Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS announced this week that they have awarded $40,000 in grants to eights dedicated to helping children and adolescents affected by HIV. Each winner of the ‘Reaching All Children Challenge’ has received $5,000 to produce either a scientific article or a case study that documents how the use of social protection supports HIV testing, treatment, and care for children in low or middle-income countries. 

‘Millions of children are out of the reach of HIV testing, treatment, and care services. They are either too poor, too stigmatized or too far away to access or to benefit from the mainstream HIV response,’ says Corinna Csaky, Manager of the Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS. ‘Social protection is an important tool for bridging this gap. It can reduce the risk of contracting HIV, but there is limited evidence on how it can protect and support vulnerable children and adolescents in testing, treatment, and care.’

The grant winners were determined by a global panel of scientific and programmatic experts, as well as fellow community-based organisations.

The winning organisations were: Africaid Zvandiri (Harare, Zimbabwe), Brewin Foundation (Zigoti, Uganda), Center for Development and Capacity Building (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), YLabs (Kigali, Rwanda), Catholic Diocese of Ngong (Ngong, Kenya), University College London (London, UK), Cheer Up (Kiambu, Central Kenya) and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (Washington, DC).

‘Children and adolescents are a key group that we are committed to involve and support as part of the HIV response. We know that social protection can reduce the risk of contracting HIV but a lack of data on how this approach can specifically help children gets in the way,’ says Stephen Rea, ViiV’s Head of External Affairs and Communications. ‘These grants will help gather much-needed evidence to encourage investment in smart solutions that help vulnerable children and adolescents.’