Apple and (RED) celebrate record year of giving with over $30 million raised for the Global Fund

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Since its creation in 2006, (RED) has worked tirelessly to help the more than 37 million people living with HIV across the globe. This World AIDS Day, Apple celebrates a record year of giving with over $30 million raised for the Global Fund, equating to 144 million days of ARV medication that prevents the transmission of HIV from mothers to their unborn babies. Over the past 11 years, Apple customers have helped provide an equivalent of 475 million days of lifesaving medication.

“Connecting through our products and services helps make it easy for our customers to join us in the effort to create the first AIDS-free generation,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, in a statement. “By working with (RED) to stop the transmission of HIV from moms to their unborn babies, we’re already seeing a significant impact in areas where help is needed most. We’re committed to continuing the fight and empowering future generations through these vital efforts.”

(RED) celebrates a remarkable milestone, having now raised over $500 million for the Global Fund since the organization’s inception. The funds have financed Global Fund programs offering prevention, testing, treatment, counseling and care services in areas where it is needed most.

“Apple’s commitment to the AIDS fight is unparalleled. It’s not just the staggering $160 million raised for the Global Fund that has impacted many millions of lives, it’s their ability to bring heat, awareness, energy and eyeballs to keep this issue front and center,” said Deb Dugan, CEO, (RED). “Their unwavering support cannot be underestimated, and we thank every Apple employee for helping (RED) reach the milestone of half a billion dollars delivered to help end this disease.”

Apple has contributed over $160 million to the Global Fund over the past 11 years.
Apple has contributed over $160 million to the Global Fund over the past 11 years.

 
Today, 20.9 million people have access to lifesaving medication, up from 19.5 million at the end of 2016, and 700,000 in 2000. The percentage of pregnant women living with HIV, and receiving treatment has also increased dramatically: 76% in 2016, up from 47% in 2010. In 2005, 1,200 babies were born each day with HIV. Today, that number is down to 400, and UNAIDS predicts that that number could be near zero by the year 2020, with the world on track to end AIDS as soon as 2030.

To harness the collective power of Apple customers for World AIDS Day 2017, more than 400 Apple stores will feature a red Apple logo for the week, and for every Apple Pay transaction made at a retail location, online or in-app, Apple will make a $1 donation to the Global Fund. App Store visitors around the world will see a Today tab takeover featuring stories dedicated to the cause including a behind-the-scenes look at how developers are supporting (RED). Gaming developer King is also rolling out limited-edition bundles across its popular titles — Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga — with all proceeds from those in-app purchases going to the Global Fund.

Source: Apple Inc.

MacDailyNews Take: Philanthropy on a grand scale is yet another way in which Apple sets itself apart.

12 Comments

    1. Project (RED) is only part, and not the largest part, of Apple’s charitable giving. In addition to company-directed contributions (see partial list in linked article below), Apple matches, dollar for dollar, employee charitable donations up to $10,000 (see details below).

      Corporate giving:
      https://venturebeat.com/2017/01/06/apple-says-its-targeting-health-environment-and-education-for-its-charitable-giving/

      Match program:
      https://doublethedonation.com/matching-gifts/apple-inc

      Reply

  3. This is a cheap way for Apple to promote itself while doing little to prevent HIV infection. Prevention is millions of times better than treatment. Prevention is less expensive than treatment. Drug therapy is costly, favors big pharma, and requires daily administration for decades.

    Reply

    1. In case you failed to read the article, most of the (RED) money goes to treating expectant mothers who are already HIV-positive (almost invariably contracted from their husbands or through rape), in order to prevent the child from being infected with the virus.

      Outside the US and Western Europe, AIDS is predominantly transmitted through heterosexual contact. Due to their physiology, women can be infected with sexually transmitted infections more easily than men.

      So far, the program has cut neonatal HIV infections by two-thirds, with a reasonable chance of nearly eliminating them over the next few years. As older infected individuals die, there will be no infected children to replace them, giving the possibility of controlling the disease worldwide within twenty years.

      Prevention is obviously better than treatment, which is why (RED) focusses on the prevention of neonatal infections. There is no way to do that without drug therapy, given the number of women of childbearing age who have become infected due to somebody else’s promiscuity.

      Reply

      1. Children receive a limited duration of treatment vs lifetime treatment. In fact, it is not treatment per se but prophylaxis. Still, the sperm donors are left to infect again and again and again. So the net effect is pathetically ineffectual in the long run.

        Reply

        2. There are some things that are uncontrollable. People who willfully engage in risky behaviors and place themselves and other at risk are beyond help. These people have no concern for themselves or others, are obviously unwilling to excercise self control or use the simplest methods of reducing transmission of HIV. Some cultures are lost causes.

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