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National & International Projects
From the very beginning, Life Ball has proven to be an innovative and effective tool to encourage the public, the government, and the international community to think about HIV/AIDS, to in turn raise awareness, reduce stigma, and, ultimately, change the world. Furthermore, within the last 27 years, LIFE+ started cooperating with important international organizations from Africa, Asia, and Europe, in order to support the needs of people and communities living with HIV/AIDS.
amfAR - The Foundation for AIDS Research
AmfAR is one of the world’s biggest non-profit organizations and deals with AIDS prevention, AIDS research and the training of medical personnel in the fight against HIV and AIDS as well as how to directly help HIV infected patients. AmfAR also advocates the implementation of reasonable AIDS policy.
Since its inception in 1985, amfAR has invested more than $450 million in its programs to end the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research – and has awarded grants to more than 3,300 research teams worldwide.
amfAR & LIFE+
The partnership between LIFE+ and amfAR began in 2005, when the organization, founded by Liz Tayler and Dr. Mathilde Krim, and its project TREAT Asia was the first recipient of the “Life Ball Crystal of Hope Award”. TREAT Asia is a network of medical facilities in Southeast Asia that ensures the medical treatment of patients infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS. Due to the lack of qualified doctors in this area, one of the main goals is the medical and social training of specialized staff and those affected by HIV and AIDS. The collaboration with amfAR marked an important step in the development of LIFE+ and its fight against HIV and AIDS, since the direct help could be extended to important research.
With the support of LIFE+ in 2006, amfAR developed an expansion of the TREAT Asia project with the TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV/AIDS Network. Ever since, LIFE+ has supported this project with roughly EUR 500,000 eachyear.
The most important concerns in building the network “children with HIV/AIDS” are:
- The establishment of secure standards for the treatment of kids
- The exchange of know-how between clinics and research institutes
- The education of doctors for the treatment of infants and children
- The collection and analysis of patient data in order to standardize therapies and dosage of medication for children
TREAT Asia is a network of clinics, hospitals, and research institutions working with civil society to ensure the safe and effective delivery of HIV/AIDS treatment throughout Asia and the Pacific. Facilitated by amfAR, TREAT Asia seeks to strengthen HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and management skills among health care professionals through education and training programs developed by experts in the region.
Complex treatment of HIV-positive children
The challenges in the HIV treatment of children are particularly complex: they need a different dosage, must cope with the various side effects of the medication, and are not immune to discrimination and social exclusion. This is why in 2005 amfAR developed an extension of the TREAT Asia project: the TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV/AIDS Network. It was created in order to establish a regional association of pediatric HIV clinicians, researchers, and orphan advocates and to establish a pediatric HIV observational database for epidemiologic research. As of 2016, over 5,000 children are already saved in through this database
Research for the benefit of HIV-positive children worldwide
Consisting of 22 clinics or programs that operate on the front lines of pediatric AIDS treatment and research in Asia, the TREAT Asia pediatric network involves sites in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Since it was formally launched in November 2006, the TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV/AIDS Initiative has developed into one of the most dynamic and effective regional resources to evaluate and address the treatment needs of children living with HIV.
The impact and benefits of TREAT Asia’s pediatric program is also generating knowledge that is helpful for advancing treatment for HIV-positive children across the world. With a financial support of half a million Euros per year since 2006, LIFE+ is one of the program’s biggest donor.
CTAOP - Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project
In 2007, Charlize Theron founded the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP)with the hope that the next generation will bring and end to this global epidemic and the taboo that surrounds it. CTAOP works with local organizations in sub-Saharan Africa as a means to engage the communities in which they work and invest in the protection of African youth between the ages of 10-20 years old from HIV/AIDS.
The goal is to educate youth about the virus itsel, the ways in which it is transmitted, and consequences of being HIV+. Through doing so, the aim is to break the silence and help counter HIV infection and empower African youth. Even today, the virus is all too often ignored in families, communities and among friends, thereby fuelling the development of an enormous knowledge gap in society. Talks and training sessions on sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and preventative measures held within casual gatherings. CTAOP seeks to establish a relaxed atmosphere, making it as easy as possible for boys and girls to address these issues – which are often unpleasant to discuss at this age.
A key motto of the CTAOP is: the more confidential the atmosphere, the easier it is for young people to tackle the issue and share it with others. A ‘classic snowball effect’ to create an enlightened and open living environment.
CTAOP Projects supported by LIFE+
CTAOP places particular focus on projects which attract as much attention as possible to this deadly virus based on innovative ideas.
The HIVSA organization focuses on the development and implementation of innovative, multi-disciplinary programs such as, ‘CHOMA,’ an interactive mobile magazine launched by the HIVSA project ‘Bokang Batsha’ that encourages young adolescent girls in South Africa to develop an awareness of HIV/AIDS. CHOMA interacts with its target group via Facebook, Twitter and hi4life. The mobile HIVSA-operated portal provides information about sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and other health-related issues and thereby delivers discrete access to information about prevention and clarification. With the “Choma Dreams Café” HIVSA was able to broaden their efforts and create safe spaces for the young girls in their communities.
WhizzKids United focuses on football as an educational tool to engage the youth and encourage them to address difficult issues. It also offers HIV prevention, care and treatment.
The Small Projects Foundation concentrates on strengthening local players in the fight against HIV/AIDS to prevent HIV infections and promote treatment, care and support for those affected by HIV. The comprehensive program seeks to prevent HIV infection by providing education programs and training for boys and girls aged 12 to 16. The focus is on prevention and providing information about reproductive health.
The theatre company Drama for Life, a postgraduate initiative of the University of the Witwatersrand School of Arts in Johannesburg, organises specific drama therapy as well as theatre workshops for children and youths aged 12 to 24 in southern Africa. School classes are playfully taught about important subjects such as HIV prevention, safer sex, as well as basics such as use of condoms and the proper way to handle sexuality, in an entertaining and laid-back manner. With its playful approach, Drama for Life achieves pervasive change without leaving the everyday locations of children and youths. The workshops are held in public and private schools, as well as in the communities.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established in the United States in 1992 by Sir Elton John, and is headquartered in New York City. In 1993, Sir Elton also established his Foundation as a registered charity in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. These two organizations function as separate entities with their own distinct grant-making portfolios, but both pursue the same mission:
- To reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS through innovative HIV prevention programs;
- To eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS;
- And to assist with direct treatment, care, and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Today, EJAF is one of the world’s leading nonprofits working in this field. Collectively, the two organizations have raised more than $350 million, since inception, in support of worthy projects across the globe, including significant funding dedicated to programs in their respective home countries. The U.S. organization awards grants to community-based projects across the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, whereas the U.K. organization focuses its grant making on programs in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
EJAF & LIFE+
EJAF was the first international partner organization of LIFE+ and was supported from 2001-2006 and in 2009, 2010 and 2013. The funds from Life Ball have supported EJAF projects in Cambodia, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine and Zambia.
EJAF - Elton John AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF)
ETAF was founded in 1991 by Elizabeth Taylor to support existing organisations with national and international programmemes that facilitate direct assistance to people living with HIV and AIDS. From the beginning, ETAF has focused on supporting marginalised communities and funding innovative HIV/AIDS education programmemes. ETAF is leading an international coalition to meet UNAIDS ’90-90-90 HIV treatment objectives in the Mulanje district in Malawi by 2020. The main local programmemes that are being funded mostly focus on comprehensive sex education and HIV criminalisation reforms, which continue to attend to marginalised groups and defend their rights. To date, ETAF has supported over 675 organisations in 44 countries and 42 US states.
The journey Elizabeth Taylor began continues on a successful path via the work of ETAF. She has ensured that ETAF can continue to operate on a permanent basis as operating costs are covered by her trust fund. To further realise the founder’s vision and help deprived and marginalised people within the AIDS community, Elizabeth Taylor’s friends and family work together as ETAF ambassadors to keep HIV/AIDS at the centre of public interest.
In 2018 Paris Jackson, ambassador of ETAF and Joyce Jere, Malawi Country Director of Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance for the GAIA Elizabeth Taylor Mobile Health Clinic Programm were awarded with the LIFE+ Award presented by M·A·C Cosmetics .
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a 21st Century institution designed to accelerate the defeat of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund was created in 2002 as a unique partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities in order to dramatically increase and direct resources to the fight against today’s pandemics.
Supporting programs of prevention, treatment, care and health systems strengthening in more than 140 countries, the Global Fund has become the main multilateral funder in global health, channeling a fifth of the international financing to fight AIDS.
By working with partners, the Global Fund ensures that funding directly serves the men, women and children affected by these diseases in the most effective way. As of the end of 2016, 18.2 million people around the world are on treatment for HIV of which 9.2 million through programs supported by the Global Fund.
The Global Fund & LIFE+
The cooperation between The Global Fund and LIFE+ began within the inaugural First Ladies Luncheon in Europe in 2014. As substantive partner, the Global Fund endorsed the joint mission to protect women and children from HIV in order to help achieve an HIV-free generation.
This remains a crucial focus of our collaboration because women and girls often experience the impact of HIV more severely than men. Every hour around 100 women are infected with HIV. Globally, women make up more than 50% of all people living with HIV and 58% in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic is most severe (UN Women). Moreover, young women aged 15-24 made up 66% of new infections among young people in the region (UNAIDS).
Women and girls’ vulnerability to HIV stems from a greater biological risk, compounded by gender inequalities. They have an increased biological vulnerability to HIV infection. In unprotected heterosexual intercourse women are twice as likely as men to acquire HIV from an infected partner. Economic and social dependence on men limits women’s power to refuse sex or to negotiate the use of condoms. Women also do not enjoy the same rights, opportunities, and access to support services as men, placing them at a greater risk and at a disadvantage with respect to treatment and care. In addition, gender-based violence also exacerbates the risk of contracting the virus.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
MTV Staying Alive Foundation
The MTV Staying Alive Foundation was established in 1998 as an international initiative to promote HIV prevention and healthy lifestyles, especially among younger generations, and to respond to the consequences of discrimination against those affected. The Foundation focuses on innovative approaches: On the one hand, it supports creative, local prevention projects that are promoted by the young themselves or initiated by young opinion leaders. On the other hand, MTV Staying Alive represents the largest mass media prevention campaign worldwide. Targeted TV content in the form of concerts, documentaries and films is created and broadcast on MTV and other stations. The message: To give HIV no chance whatsoever through safer sex and making the right decisions in life.
A very special innovative project of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation namely Circus Zambia, recieved the LIFE+ Award presented by MAC Cosmetics & MAC AIDS Fund during the opening ceremony of Life Ball 2019. By launching this project, the initiators have set up a social circus project with the aim of teaching acrobatic skills and education to young people from marginalized groups, as well as providing information on hygiene, HIV/AIDS and drug use in order to improve their chances of finding work and improving their quality of life.
Sentebale is a charity founded in 2006 by Prince Harry of Wales and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to address the pediatric HIV/AIDS epidemic in Lesotho and Botswana. The goal of the organization is to help the most vulnerable children and young people in both regions – the victims of the HIV epidemic and extreme poverty. The name ‘Sentebale’ comes from the Sesotho language, meaning “forget me not“ and was chosen “as a memorial to the charity work of our own mothers, as well as a reminder to us all not to forget Lesotho or its children”. – Prince Harry –
SENTEBALE
UNAIDS - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
The vision of UNAIDS is – “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”
UNAIDS is an innovative international institution that leads and inspires the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. UNAIDS fulfills its mission by:
Uniting the efforts of the United Nations system, civil society, national governments, the private sector, global institutions and people living with and most affected by HIV;
Speaking out in solidarity with the people most affected by HIV in defense of human dignity, human rights and gender equality;
Mobilizing political, technical, scientific and financial resources and holding ourselves and others accountable for results;
Empowering agents of change with strategic information and evidence to influence and ensure that resources are targeted where they deliver the greatest impact and bring about a prevention revolution;
Supporting inclusive country leadership for sustainable responses that are integral to and integrated with national health and development efforts.
UNAIDS & LIFE+
The cooperation between UNAIDS and LIFE+ began within the XVIII. International AIDS-Conference in 2010, where Life Ball acted as the inaugural event. Since 2011, UNAIDS has been the co-host of the AIDS Solidarity Gala: an exclusive gala banquet prior to Life Ball that invites key-players of the global AIDS Community to discuss current challenges in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
AIDS Hilfen Österreich
The AIDS Help offers counseling and consultation for people who got infected with HIV or who are particularly in danger of getting infected. This enables people to protect themselves in order to prevent new infections. Additionally, the AIDS Help promotes social policies which do not tolerate the exclusion and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Austrian AIDS Help consists of seven independent, regional associations and supports people living with HIV/AIDS in coping with their disease. In over 50% of all cases, the AIDS Helps ask for quick direct help for people with HIV/AIDS who have unexpectedly found themselves in dire straits. In the last couple of years, however, various projects (day visit, meetings of people who are HIV-positive, sport therapy, activity projects, etc.) have been supported, as well.
Apart from that, the AIDS Helps – on behalf of the Ministry of Health – offer free and anonymous HIV testing. With their leaflets and publications, which are available for free for the most part, they reach hundreds of thousands of people each year and provide them with information on HIV/AIDS.
AIDS Hilfe Wien
50-60% of all people living with HIV/AIDS in Austria are living in or near Vienna. This is why the Aids Help Vienna receives the biggest share of the financial support for national projects from LIFE+. “The year-long partnership with LIFE+ means a lot to the Aids Help Vienna. All means which we receive from the Life Ball are used entirely for projects to the benefit of people living with HIV/AIDS. At the Aids Help House, we offer individual psychological counseling, support provided by social workers as well as a safe place free of discrimination where people can meet, regain their strength and share their stories”, says Philipp Dirnberger, CEO of the Aids Help Vienna.
Project “Job Impuls” – individual potential analysis for a fresh start at work
Life expectancy of people with HIV/AIDS is increasing. Many people affected who receive good medical care – about 70 per cent of all people with HIV – can lead an almost unimpaired (working) life. In February 2011, the project “Job Impuls” (job impulse), which aims at supporting people with HIV/AIDS at finding their way back into work, was launched. Potential analyses, individual coaching and further education courses help people to re-enter the workplace.
Antiretroviral therapies and special medical examinations for clients who are not insured
Aids Help Vienna’s consultancy department is the only place in Vienna and its surroundings where HIV-positive people who are not insured are provided with antiretroviral medication. Whether they stranded in Austria for migrational reasons, whether they got sick and depressed because their asylum proceedings were delayed or whether they were not treated normally as out-patients anymore because of insurance gaps and were thus referred to us – these peoples’ health is endangered and they need help in any case. What is necessary in terms of medical care is antiretroviral medication as well as special kinds of examinations such as X-ray or ultrasound.
Medical check-ups for people with HIV/AIDS – measurement of the viral load and free immune monitoring
After receiving a positive HIV test result, the patients should – from a medical point of view – have their immunological and virological status checked as soon as possible. Clients who did an anonymous HIV test and unexpectedly received a positive result often have problems dealing with it: They are overwhelmed and not ready to tell their general practitioner about the diagnosis; many of them do not have the financial means to pay for the necessary medical examinations themselves, either. Sometimes, they even suppress what has happened to them, which can be dangerous for the patients themselves as well as for their sexual partners. This is why it is important for the Aids Help Vienna to do a first, anonymous and free immune monitoring in cases where it seems necessary from a professional point of view. This helps the patients to cope with the diagnosis and it also facilitates planning the ideal start of the therapy.
Day Center – a place where people meet
Aids Help Vienna’s Day Center is a low-threshold care offer for people with HIV/AIDS. Many of the people who come to the consultancy department are living in poverty. Poverty does not only mean that they have a low income, but it also implies that they are excluded from social activities.
What the Day and Activity Center offers is on the one hand feasible at low expenses and on the other hand, it encourages people to get active independently. Like this, people are enabled to participate actively in cultural and social life. Additionally, freshly cooked meals are supposed to enhance the clients’ physical and emotional well-being and promote networking and exchange between them.
HIV specific, medical in-home care and social guidance for people with HIV/ AIDS has been founded in 1999 in Vienna in order to provide for the special needs of those affected in their homes and their familiar surroundings.
A characteristic of the organization is the close collaboration with the two AIDS-wards in the Viennese Otto Wagner hospital and AKH. This allows a smooth and well-prepared transfer of the patients to home care. Trained and registered nurses make sure that it is possible to adequately react to the quickly changing needs of the clients.
A particular concern is a value-free interaction with people who have a different sexual orientation or who uses substances. HIV mobile addresses those who suffer from AIDS or HIV positive people as wells as their friends and relatives. The range of services includes an HIV-specific custodial and medical support. Ever since it has been founded the foundation has been greatly supported by LIFE+ with the donations generated by the Life Ball.
Diversity Care Wien
Verein Positiver Dialog
Organizing sporting and cultural activities, the “Positive Dialog” is a self-help group by and for people affected by HIV/AIDS and their relatives which supports them in returning to an independent life. Life Ball makes it possible. Strengthening their social contacts and the possibility for mutual exchange allows those affected to gain a foothold in society far from bureaucracy and public authorities.
Even today, living with HIV/AIDS often means social isolation and stigmatization. Therefore, the Buddy project assists people with HIV/AIDS and offers them practical support and a sincere and personal relationship, which makes everyday life easier. Buddies try to increase the quality of life of those who are affected by HIV/AIDS by emotional and a very personal support.
They can help by relieving the existing support system, but in some cases, though, a buddy is the only reliable person in the life of someone living with HIV/AIDS. Buddies meet with their ‘clients’ regularly on a one-to-one basis. They see them at home or in the hospital, listen to them, laugh with them, or go to the movies or to a café together. With their continuing contact and friendship buddies offer a supportive social framework. Thus, buddies can assist in strengthening the vital energies and coping skills. As a result, emotional crises and problems can easier be dealt with.
The so-called “helper cells“ are named after the supporting cells of the human immune system. They offer practical assistance in all kind of situations: they step in when friends and/or family need a break, or when the home help service is prevented from coming. They are also there if someone cannot count on the support from relatives or social care facilities – because they either are not available or cannot cater to someone’s individual needs. The Buddy Associations helper cells thus close the gap between institutionalized care, support from relatives or ‘emotional company’ from buddies.
To supply bedridden patients with everything they need at home, helper cells work together with the mobile nursing service “Diversity Care Wien”: they pick up medication from the drug store, fetch prescriptions from the doctor or have them approved by the chief physician at the health insurance company.
“Life Ball’s financial support significantly contributes to the continuance of the association and the maintenance of the projects, enabling the care of people with HIV/AIDS living in Vienna,” explains the executive committee of the Buddy Association.