(Foster City, CA, Tuesday, December 17, 2019) – Gilead Sciences COMPASS Initiative (COMPASS) announced that 40 organizations in the south will receive more than $2.3 million to combat the spread of HIV in the south and support people who are living with HIV. COMPASS allows each grantee to build on existing community-driven solutions that improve the health and well-being of those affected by the HIV virus in the south.

Despite being home to only 38% of the country’s population, southern states experienced 52% of the new HIV infections in 2017.

Societal disparities in the south—including poverty, housing stability and food security—cause the epidemic to become a complex challenge that requires a variety of community-based solutions.

Recognizing that the south is disproportionately affected by HIV, Gilead announced the COMPASS Initiative two years ago. Over the span of 10 years, the community-focused program will provide more than $100 million in an unprecedented effort to combat the HIV epidemic in the south.

Last year, 32 organizations received Transformative Grants to develop and expand the infrastructure of HIV services in the south. The one-year grants are focused on addressing disparities within the HIV epidemic by increasing organizational capacity, reducing stigma and promoting mental health and trauma-informed care.

The Gilead COMPASS Initiative is a 10-year, more than $100 million commitment in the southern United States supporting organizations working to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The corporate giving program of the initiative has a threefold mission: to build capacity and increase knowledge sharing among community-based, underfunded organizations in southern states; to explore interventions that appropriately respond to patients’ needs, including the bundling or reframing of mental healthcare, as well as the intersection between substance use, the opioid epidemic and HIV/AIDS; and to fund awareness and anti-stigma campaigns. Through this initiative, Gilead plans to dramatically increase the reach of these organizations working to address the epidemic in the region, and ultimately to improve the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS.