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Pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences will announce Tuesday that it will provide up to $5 million in grants to help a coalition of LGBTQ+ and human rights groups craft a public health response to the monkeypox outbreak. said the company.
Outside of Africa, where the virus is endemic, new cases have emerged, mostly among gay and bisexual men. Experts warn that the virus could spread to other populations, especially due to vaccine shortages. The World Health Organization and the United States have declared monkeypox a public health emergency.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, the National Black Justice Coalition, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights each received $350,000 from Gilead for public education on virus prevention and treatment.
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Gilead is a leading manufacturer of HIV drugs. The company also said it is evaluating whether its therapeutic or experimental drug candidates are effective against monkeypox.
GLAAD staff have been unable to respond to recent requests for information on monkeypox, spokesperson Rich Ferraro said. “This partnership will allow us to do more,” he said.
The funds will help the group produce videos, graphics and other informational resources for distribution to media and community centers, bars, nightclubs, parties and events.
Torrian Baskerville, HRC’s Director of HIV and Health Equity, said the US response to the virus at the federal, state and local levels was “generally slow”.
He said policy changes were urgently needed to streamline vaccine distribution as the current system varies from state to state.
NMAC – formerly the National Minority AIDS Coalition – will receive $500,000 to coordinate the coalition’s public policy efforts.
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An additional $3 million has been set aside for emergency grants to small organizations around the world. Gilead spokesperson Kolab Zuka said these groups were already understaffed by COVID-19, so routine patient care may need to be delayed during a monkeypox outbreak. increase.