AID FOR AIDS International

AID FOR AIDS (212-337-8043) saves countless lives every day by sending critical HIV medications, free of charge, to people living with AIDS throughout the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.

Why do we exist?

AFA was established in 1996 to address the ever growing problem for people living with HIV and AIDS in developing countries who have little or no access to HIV treatments.  AFA's program founders were not prepared to sit around and wait for the different governments to address the problem while thousands of people died every month.  Instead, they devised an innovative approach to the saving lives by collecting HIV medications that would otherwise be thrown out and providing them free of charge to people who needed them in poorer countries. For people living with HIV, finding the medicine that works best for them can be a process of trial and error, it's illegal to share prescription medications in the US, so millions of dollars in these leftover drugs are thrown away each year. We save many of these drugs from being discarded to be used for humanitarian aid. Today, AFA is by far the largest nonprofit in the world saving and redistributing these vital drugs, meeting the needs of individuals in more than 27 countries.  Everyone should care because HIV is threatening the lives of people, too young to die, while the drugs that could save them are being thrown away.  AFA's approach to addressing this problem is extremely inexpensive compared to other alternatives, and effective at helping families to realize their potential to lead full lives.

What have you accomplished?

• In 10 years AFA has become known as the largest and most effective drug recycler in the world.
• Since our founding in 1996, we have helped over 2500 people to sat alive by providing them free medications.
• In 2005 we collected and distributed over $4 million worth of unused medications and sent it clients in 27 countries. In 2006 we are expecting at least 50% growth.
• In 2005 we expanded our youth peer education program: "Cuanto Sabes?", "How much do you know?" into 9 Latin American countries, and by the end of 2006 we will have delivered critical HIV prevention education to 36,000 teenagers at risk of this disease.
• AFA has trained hundreds of rural doctors all over Latin America in the latest in HIV care.
• September 06 AFA established the Universal Treatment Access Initiative which will provide antiretrovirals to 1000 people in Panama, Guatemala and Honduras for an entire year.

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