Drew CARES Named a Winner of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HIV Challenge
Drew CARES has been selected as one of 15 winners in the first phase of the HIV Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) in partnership with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP). Drew CARES was selected out of more than 80 submissions from around the U.S. All 15 winners receive a prize of $20,000 and will advance to the second phase.
“Through a collaborative effort with Community Partners, Drew CARES will address the disproportionate toll that HIV takes on women of color, and particularly black women,” said LaShonda Spencer, Director of Drew CARES, which fights the HIV epidemic by studying the behavioral and clinical aspects of HIV diagnosis, prevention and treatment. “Although services have been in existence in this area for many users, we have lacked the targeted interventions for women who are less likely to be linked to care or target for HIV prevention services based on both their race and sex.”
The HIV Challenge is divided into three phases with a total award of $760,000. In this first phase HHS named Drew CARES for its numerous innovative concepts for community engagement to reduce stigma related to HIV prevention and treatment. The next phase allows participants to develop an approach to enhance community engagement and mobilization regarding HIV stigma and disparities. Seven participants will be chosen for the final phase to conduct a small-scale testing on their approaches. A panel of judges will choose the final three submissions as the overall HIV Challenge winners, receiving a prize of $60,000 each.
The HIV Challenge was created to engage individuals, communities, and community-based organizations to identify innovative and practical approaches to reduce HIV stigma and disparities and increase prevention and treatment among racial and ethnic minority communities.