African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP)

In 2000, the Government of Botswana, The Merck Company Foundation/Merck, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation established the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) to support and enhance Botswana's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic through a comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and support. In 2010, Merck renewed its commitment to ACHAP with an additional grant of $30 million for the period 2010-2014 — bringing our total to $86 million over 15 years. Learn more.

Keeping HIV Positive Mothers and Their Babies Healthy: mothers2mothers

Since 2008 Merck has supported mothers2mothers (m2m) to facilitate HIV prevention programs for mothers at prenatal clinics in rural Lesotho. The program aims to reduce the number of babies born with HIV through the support of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT). In addition, m2m develops and implements HIV skills training for women in HIV management in order to better serve the community. Since m2m initiated its program in Lesotho, the organization has opened 66 sites, hired 24 site coordinators, trained 86 Mentor Mothers, enrolled 13,600 patients and fostered 80,900 client interactions.

Educating and Empowering Young People

Merck has partnered with organizations dedicated to raising awareness about HIV, including improving an understanding of the disease, promoting prevention, and reducing stigma and discrimination.

Grassroot Soccer: Football for an HIV Free Generation program combines outreach programs for youth including educational, leadership and life skills development. The key aims are: (1) to reduce the rate of HIV infection; (2) to engage young people across Africa as advocates in the fight against HIV, to help them make a positive difference in their communities; and (3) to help boost leadership and increase country-level focus on improving HIV prevention across Africa. Merck has supported Grassroot Soccer's program in Namibia since 2008. The Namibia program, which began in 2006, has trained 184 coaches and graduated 11,025 young people.

The Tertiary School in Business Education or TSiBA has promoted HIV prevention through peer education programs, which are educational, preventative, facilitative, experiential and fun for young people on relevant topics and issues with regard to their health, sexuality and well-being. TSiBA has established a team of 110 peer educators who work with 52 active partnering organizations or people who augment the team. The peer educator team has conducted one-off workshops, wellness drives and road show peer education sessions in the Cape Town area of South Africa.

Helping Vulnerable Populations: AMREF

Young women and unemployed young adults represent populations that are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Merck has supported community-based efforts to reach those most in need and most at risk. Merck has supported AMREF's efforts in Uganda specifically focused on HIV/AIDS interventions for young women in the Kawempe Division. AMREF believes that addressing poverty among young women is a key factor in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS. This project provides health services to poor people in the community, including family planning, voluntary counseling and infectious disease testing and diagnosis, management of sexually transmitted infections and opportunistic infections, and psychosocial therapy. In addition, the project includes vocational training for 390 vulnerable women and girls, providing them with the skills necessary for gaining employment or starting their own small businesses.

Caring for those who Care for PLWHA

The Regional AIDS Initiative of Southern Africa (RAISA), a project of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), seeks to strengthen the capacity of in-country partners to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by providing the building blocks to develop programs and coordinate efforts. Through the expertise and in-country relationships of VSO's volunteer professionals, RAISA works with government institutions and civil society organizations to provide effective prevention, treatment, care and advocacy support for people affected by HIV/AIDS, and to mitigate the personal, social and economic impact of the epidemic. This regional initiative works in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. RAISA uses its expertise to plan and coordinate activities to help patients living with HIV/AIDS cope with the disease.

Since 2008 Merck has supported VSO-RAISA's efforts to advocate on behalf of caregivers who play a critical role in providing support and care for people living with HIV/AIDS. VSO-RAISA's "Clean Glove" campaign in 2008 sought to increase caregivers' access to gloves and other hygienic supplies to effectively conduct home-based care. Since 2009 VSO-RAISA's caregivers advocacy campaign has brought together stakeholders from South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia to identify and disseminate home-based care practices that: (1) reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS care on women and girls; (2) influence policy and ensure positive change; and (3) influence the development of new policies or amendments to existing policies that reduce the burden of care.

Targeted Research to Understand and Address the Impact of HIV/AIDS

University of KwaZulu-Natal Health Economics and AIDS Research Division Durban (HEARD) conducts research to better understand the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS in the Southern African Development Community and East Africa regions. The resulting evidence is then applied to develop recommendations for action and target effective interventions by policymakers, NGOs, employers and other stakeholders to address the challenges of HIV in Africa. Since 2006 Merck has provided significant support to HEARD, both for longer-term research, as part of Merck's Program in Pharmaceutical Policy Issues, and for shorter-term projects and interventions, including the Gender Equality and HIV-Prevention Programme. This program bridges research and policy to support African leadership in making decisions that support women's rights and tackle gender inequality.