Cities on the Front Lines of HIV/AIDS

By Juliet Glassroth June 6, 2016

While world health leaders and AIDS activists met in New York City last week for the UN’s High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, FCAA member and #3 philanthropic funder of HIV/AIDS, the M.A.C AIDS Fund (MAF), brought some star power to the New York City Public Library on June 6^th for their event: The Problem Solvers: Cities on the Front Lines of HIV/AIDS.The forum, produced in partnership with The Atlantic and UNAIDS, featured singer and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Annie Lennox, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, and the mayors of Paris, Kingston, and Durban. Speakers drove home the importance of cities as key focal points for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, highlighting how cities can be epicenters of disparity, but also serve as hubs for strong institutions, innovation, and mobilization.

During the opening panel on the city politics of HIV/AIDS Deputy Mayor of Paris, Bernard Jomier, announced the “Paris without AIDS” partnership with the M.A.C AIDS Fund, part of MAF’s recent scale up of commitment to cities, with over $6 million in funding to targeted efforts such as the Fast-Track Cities Initiative and local public-private partnerships in New York City, San Francisco, and beyond.

Throughout the day, we heard from activists, philanthropists, urban leaders, entrepreneurs, and development organizations at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic. Most agreed that we have the tools to end the epidemic, but we often lack political will, fail to coordinate efforts, and miss opportunities to use powerful personal narratives to mobilize even greater resources against AIDS.cale up of commitment to cities, with over $6 million in funding to targeted efforts such as the Fast-Track Cities Initiative and local public-private partnerships in New York City, San Francisco, and beyond.

FCAA applauds the new partnerships, resources, and passions mobilized through this event. It was a testament to the unique power of philanthropy in the global AIDS response, demonstrating how funders can be responsive, act strategically, redirect for greater impact, and quickly engage new partners for quicker action.

For more information and pictures from the event, visit AtlanticLIVE’s Facebook page here. To review the conversations that took place in real-time, visit the event hash-tag #HIVproblemsolvers.
For another example of philanthropic commitment to city and state responses, review materials from the The Role of Philanthropy in Ending AIDS in America: the New York State Plan to EndAIDS.