A ground-breaking partnership
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.
RADIAN aims to meaningfully address new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS related illnesses in EECA through focussed action, investment and resourcing to improve the quality of prevention and care for people at risk of or living with HIV in the region.
HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
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Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) is one of the few regions in the world where the annual rate of HIV infections continues to rise.1,2
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Each day more than 400 people in EECA become infected with HIV.1
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In EECA 100 people die from AIDS each day.1
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Deaths from AIDS-related illnesses have increased by around 300% in the last 20 years in EECA.1,2
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An estimated 1.7 million people in EECA are living with HIV.1
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Over 1 in 4 people living with HIV in EECA are not aware of their HIV status.1
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In EECA 62% of people living with HIV are not on treatment.1
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More than nine in ten new infections in EECA are among key populations. These groups often face discrimination due to stigma.1
Radian Model Cities
The RADIAN ‘Model Cities’ programme will provide significant funding over the next five years to deliver measurable impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS in key EECA cities.
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 Fund welcomes concept notes for evidence-informed solutions implementing in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan. The Fund welcomes concept notes for multi-country projects.
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.
Together we can create change in EECA
About RADIAN
RADIAN aims to meaningfully address new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), where deaths have increased 300% in the last 20 years.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation and Gilead have an established presence in EECA and extensive experience of working effectively with key local stakeholders for many years, most recently through the EECA Key Populations (EECAKP) fund. RADIAN is a natural evolution of this three-year commitment, which gave the organisations a greater understanding of the urgent needs in EECA and the necessary experience and strategy to respond.
Both organisations, as well as potential additional partners in the future, will work together to ensure no one is left behind in the global effort to eliminate HIV/AIDS.
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The Elton John AIDS Foundation is one of the foremost independent AIDS charities in the world. At the Foundation, we believe AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for evidence-based frontline programmes and policies and by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives. Sir Elton John created the Foundation in 1992. Since then, through hard work and with the help of our network of kind and generous friends and supporters, the Foundation has raised more than $450 million globally to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. Join us in speaking out, taking action, and continuing the fight against this worldwide pandemic so that no one is left behind. For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.
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Gilead has been a leading innovator for 30 years, working to help people treat and prevent HIV and to drive research that may one day lead to finding a cure for HIV. Despite tremendous advances in the field, HIV is still an epidemic with an unequally heavy impact among the most marginalised populations. Through our scientific efforts, community support programmes and partnerships with leading health organisations, we’re continuing to break down barriers and help strengthen public health systems — efforts critical to ending the HIV epidemic once and for all.
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1.
UNAIDS (2019). UNAIDS Data 2019. Available at: https://www.unaids.org/en/
resources/documents/2019/2019- UNAIDS-data [Accessed August 2019] -
2.
UNAIDS (2017). UNAIDS Data 2017. Available at: https://www.unaids.org/en/
resources/documents/2017/2017_ data_book [Accessed August 2019] -
3.
Kazakh Scientific Center of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases – 2019 Report. Available at: http://www.kncdiz.kz/
files/00005859.docx [Accessed August 2019] -
4.
Almaty City AIDS Centre. Available at: https://gcaids.kz/ru/
ctatistika [Accessed August 2019]