At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, (RED) – the AIDS organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver – marked ten years since its 2006 inception at the same location.
Founded to create a sustainable flow of private sector money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and heat around the AIDS issue, (RED)‘s partners, special events and many extraordinary collaborators have generated $350 million for the AIDS fight since 2006. To mark the anniversary and doubling (RED)’s impact, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it will match every dollar generated by (RED) for the Global Fund in 2016, up to $50 million.
With UNAIDS data showing that mother-to-child transmission of HIV could be effectively ended as early as 2020, América Móvil, Apple, Bank of America, Belvedere, GAP, SAP, Starbucks and The Coca-Cola Company have renewed their partnerships with (RED) in support of reaching this goal, with NetJets, Salesforce and Tradeshift also announcing new partnerships with (RED) to fight AIDS.
As the world reaches a critical point in the fight, the impact of (RED) partner money has never been clearer. The $350 million raised by (RED) has impacted the lives of 60 million people with prevention, treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services. Life-saving ARV medication now costs as little as 30 cents a day in sub-Saharan Africa; it not only saves the lives of mothers living with HIV, but also prevents transmission of the virus to their unborn babies. By getting the medicine to those who need it most, an AIDS-Free Generation can become a reality in as few as five years.
“The $350 million (RED) has raised is important — particularly to the people who are alive because of it — but (RED) isn’t just about cold cash, it’s about political heat,” said Bono, cofounder of (RED). “When Bobby Shriver and I started (RED), people said we were mad. We were mad, we were outraged that where you lived would decide whether you lived – and that’s exactly what was happening with the AIDS crisis. But this isn’t a last decade fight, it’s the next decade where we really need to show up and see this off. I’m really touched that in this next year what we raise will be matched by the Gates Foundation. Let’s make sure we get to $100 million.”
“Over the past decade, (RED) has enrolled millions of people and dozens of brands in the global fight against AIDS,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Today’s match will provide the Global Fund with up to $100 million to help save 60,000 lives, prevent 2.3 million new infections and generate more than $2 billion in economic gains for developing countries. That’s an amazing return on investment.”
