BRIEF—Gilead announces public health initiative to combat HIV/AIDS in southern USA

Gilead Sciences has announced the launch of a 10-year, $100 million commitment to support organizations combatting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Southern United States.

Called the COMPASS Initiative, Gilead will partner with three coordinating centers to provide funding to local organizations.

The money will be used for to support education projects and promote well-being, mental health and trauma-informed care.

Gregg Alton, EVP of corporate and medical affairs said: "HIV/AIDS remains an urgent public health crisis in the United States and this is particularly apparent in the southern states where rates of new infection rival those seen in the 1980s.”

“In some communities, those rates are actually rising - a chilling reminder that the epidemic is far from a thing of the past."