Top 10 philanthropic donors to global AIDS relief

Amid the global economic slowdown, HIV and AIDS funding from donor governments has stagnated in recent years. The United States — the largest donor to global AIDS relief — has even set in motion plans to gradually reduce HIV and AIDS spending in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Against this backdrop, the global AIDS community has been increasingly looking to the philanthropic sector to help fill an estimated $3 billion to $5 billion gap in HIV and AIDS financing. Last year’s annual report on global HIV and AIDS philanthropy from Funders Concerned About AIDS found that global HIV and AIDS funding from U.S. and European philanthropic donors totaled $644 million in 2011, up by 5 percent from 2010. But this year’s recently released FCAA report suggests the modest uptick in global HIV and AIDS giving in 2011 may have been short-lived. According to the report, HIV and AIDS funding from U.S. and European philanthropic donors reached nearly $600 million in 2012, down 5 percent from inflation-adjusted 2011 figures. The report also forecasts that philanthropic support from the United States and Europe for HIV and AIDS worldwide is unlikely to increase in 2013. “At a time when international assistance from donor countries for HIV/AIDS is flat, and with prevention and treatment technologies rapidly evolving, slow and steady will not bring the needed resources to bear to meet the current challenges of the AIDS response,” the report warns. Based on the findings of the FCAA report, Devex provides a rundown of the top 10 philanthropic donors to global AIDS relief. According to the report, most philanthropic funding for HIV and AIDS is directed toward projects of global benefit, followed by initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. 1. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $220 million The largest private foundation in terms of global development giving, the Gates Foundation is also the largest philanthropic donor to global AIDS relief. In 2012, the foundation accounted for 47 percent of HIV and AIDS giving from the U.S.-based philanthropic sector. According to its July 2012 HIV strategy, the Gates Foundation is focusing its resources on poor sub-Saharan countries where the incidence of HIV remains high. In March of this year, the Gates Foundation launched a new grant-making challenge to increase the use of condoms in the developing world. 2. MAC AIDS Fund and MAC Cosmetics Headquarters: New York, United States Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $34.4 million Established in 1994 by MAC Cosmetics, the MAC AIDS Fund’s international program operates in both South Africa and the Caribbean. VIVA GLAM, a line of lipsticks and lip glosses launched by MAC Cosmetics, is the fund’s marquee fundraising initiative. Every cent of the selling price of VIVA GLAM products is donated to the MAC AIDS Fund. 3. Wellcome Trust Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $28.9 million The London-based Wellcome Trust is the largest European philanthropic donor to global AIDS relief. One-fifth of the total HIV and AIDS giving from the European philanthropic sector in 2012 originated from the charitable foundation. Research programs for HIV and AIDS — as well as malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases — in countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Malawi and Vietnam are the focus of the Wellcome Trust’s international giving. 4. AbbVie and AbbVie Foundation Headquarters: North Chicago, Illinois, United States Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $19.2 million Formerly part of Abbott Laboratories, the pharmaceuticals company AbbVie has revealed plans to focus its HIV and AIDS philanthropic giving on HIV and hepatitis co-infection programming beginning in 2014. Last month, Abbvie launched an international awareness campaign aimed at addressing challenges faced by women living with HIV called “See Us: Women Take a Stand on HIV.” 5. Children’s Investment Fund Foundation Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $18.6 million The fifth-largest private foundation in terms of global development giving, CIFF focuses its HIV and AIDS philanthropic giving on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in African and Asian countries. Most notably, in Zimbabwe, CIFF has partnered with the Ministry of Health and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to run the country’s HIV transmission-prevention program. 6. Gilead Sciences Headquarters: Foster City, California, United States Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $16.7 million Gilead Sciences’ HIV and AIDS philanthropic giving aims to expand access to HIV and hepatitis education, outreach, prevention and health services. Outside the United States, the biopharmaceutical company is supporting HIV and AIDS programming in Uganda, Mali, Zimbabwe, Kenya and other parts of Africa. 7. ViiV Healthcare Headquarters: Brentford, United Kingdom Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $16.3 million One of pharmaceutical company ViiV Healthcare’s marquee philanthropic initiatives is the Positive Action program, which supports HIV and AIDS education, prevention, care and treatment activities in 46 countries. Earlier this month, ViiV announced that it had awarded 3.4 million pounds ($5.6 million) in grants for programs focused on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. 8. National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund Headquarters: Pretoria, South Africa Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $15.6 million The only organization based in a developing country to feature on this list, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund relies on proceeds from South Africa’s national lottery to finance its philanthropic activities across South Africa. NLDTF’s HIV and AIDS grant-making activities are mostly geared toward registered nonprofit organizations that serve orphans and vulnerable children as well as rural populations. 9. Sidaction Headquarters: Paris, France Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $14.8 million Founded in 1994, Sidaction provides financial and technical assistance for HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and research activities in France as well as in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Sidaction’s international programs are co-financed by the French Development Agency, the mayor of Paris, as well as private foundations. 10. Ford Foundation Headquarters: New York, United States Global HIV and AIDS giving (2012): $14 million The Ford Foundation is the third-largest private foundation in terms of global development giving. Under its human rights program, the foundation funds initiatives to reduce HIV and AIDS discrimination and exclusion in the United States, Central America, the Middle East and North Africa, and southern Africa. The foundation also provides funding to support the work of international advocacy organizations to promote the human rights of populations affected by HIV. Devex originally published this article, which has been updated with the latest information and analysis, in November 2012. Check out more funding trends analyses online, and sign up as an Executive Member to receive the information you need for your organization to thrive.