An ambitious US Department of State initiative, the DREAMS-Innovation Challenge aims to dramatically reduce new HIV infections among adolescent girls and women in 10 sub-Saharan countries.
BOSTON, Aug. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — John Snow, Inc. (JSI) has been selected as funds manager for the DREAMS Innovation Challenge (DREAMS-IC). JSI will oversee awards to more than 50 organizations selected to implement innovative DREAMS activities.
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DREAMS is dedicated to reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women by 40 percent in the high-burden geographic areas of 10 African countries by the end of 2017. It was developed under a public-private partnership between PEPFAR, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Girl Effect, Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences, and Viiv Healthcare.
As the DREAMS-IC funds manager, JSI provides financial oversight of and provision of technical support to grantees. JSI has a strong record in grants management and technical assistance for strengthening institutional and technical capacity to halt new HIV infections, and has supported more than 500 nongovernmental organizations over the past 10 years.
“We are so pleased to be working with DREAMS-IC implementing partners to improve opportunities for adolescent girls and young women,” commented Joel Lamstein, JSI president. “DREAMS funding will help them complete secondary school, gain employment, and access all the health and social services needed to prevent HIV infection.”
DREAMS-IC will work in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to help girls and young women become Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe Women. This initiative supports new program approaches and robust documentation of successful strategies.
Between 2008 and 2013, JSI managed two New Partners Initiative programs that oversaw grants to more than 35 NGOs across East and Southern Africa, helping many to become prime recipients of PEPFAR funds.
JSI also implements USAID’s AIDSfree Project, which aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of high-impact, evidence-based HIV interventions to meet country-specific goals and objectives. JSI also advances community-owned programs to improve population health under the USAID-funded Advancing Partners and Communities project globally, including DREAMS-IC countries.
Learn more about the DREAMS-Innovation challenge.
Contacts
Penelope Riseborough
Director of Communications
penelope_riseborough@jsi.com
(617) 482 9485
Folami Harris
Project Director
folami_harris@jsi.com
(617) 482 9485