To commemorate WorldAIDSDay, we spoke to AnneAslett1 CEO of ejaf about the work of the foundation and the actions required to address inequalities and help end AIDS
Interview conducted by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc.Dec 1 2022 Thought LeadersAnne AslettChief Executive Officerthe Elton John AIDS Foundation
Elton John heard the story of a young boy called Ryan White in Indiana, who'd been infected with HIV through a contaminated blood transfusion. He wanted to meet this boy, and he was particularly struck by the fact that, for all of the hatred and shame and blame that was heaped on Ryan and his family, they remained so kind and caring and giving and didn't blame anybody for the situation that they'd been put in.
As treatment became available, we moved into supporting projects that would enable antiretroviral treatment to get out as far as possible from big hospitals to district clinics and little local clinics across the world, using all kinds of what's called step-down methodology. The tragedy is that we still have a great deal of stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS, and it very much digs in amongst vulnerable communities, who then don't feel empowered to go and seek treatment.
For example, there's an organization called Triggerise, which works in multiple countries, but we're supporting them in Kenya. They are using data-driven insights from young people who access the platform to drive them into health services, to encourage them to use them, and to be able to track when and what services they’ve accessed, which gives us a much greater insight into what's working and what isn't.
We're working with Walmart stores that have massive coverage across the US. Interestingly, their footprint and demographic strongly correlate to the people we need to reach, who are those living with HIV or don't understand their risk of HIV and need to be tested. I think a lot of what needs to be done is addressing some of the structural determinants of health. The fact that certain populations don't have access to education, a doctor, good nutrition, or housing. We can't do all of those at the foundation, but we do a lot of work in raising the fact that there is this link between vulnerability and why certain populations become much more affected.
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