Brazil

The Problem

Brazil is at the centre of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latin America - almost half of all positive people in the region live here. However, prompt action by the government, in partnership with civil society, has turned this country into an HIV/AIDS success story, Brazil has:
 

• Halved the number of people dying from AIDS since the late 1990s
• Prevented an estimated half million new infections by 2000 
• Been one of the first to commit to providing free antiretroviral therapy (ART) to all in 1996, now reaching an estimated 85% of those in need.
   

Although HIV rates amongst the general population remain relatively low, sexual transmission is on the increase. Rates amongst at risk groups such as injecting drug users, commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men, also remain high. Brazil suffers from extremes of wealth and poverty with the government estimating that 30% of the population are living in absolute poverty. Without enough money to cover food or transport, even free medical care remains inaccessible.
 

Our Response

The majority of HIV cases in Brazil are found in the south-eastern and southern urban areas. So EJAF has supported a number of targeted prevention programmes, particularly amongst young people (including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth) in deprived areas of Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. A pilot programme that we funded in Sao Paulo, integrating HIV/AIDS information into a door to door primary care programme, has since been taken on by the Ministry of Health and will be rolled out to reach over 95 million Brazilians. 
 
We have also funded a number of grassroots organisations in Brazil through a small grants programme administered by Associacao Saude da Familia. These are working to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in a number of ways including: providing emotional support, practical assistance with transport, employment and livelihood training and sensitising healthcare workers to better understand and provide for their needs.
 

For more information on some of our current programmes, please click on one of the projects featured above.
 

To learn more about our current funding priorities and application procedure for Brazil please click on the 'Grant Strategy' link to the left of this page.