The Desert AIDS Project has awarded its prestigious Science and Medicine Award to UNAIDS. The award was presented to the Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, of UNAIDS, Gunilla Carlsson, at the 25th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards in Palm Springs, United States of America, on 9 February.

“UNAIDS is deeply humbled to receive the Science and Medicine Award from an organization like Desert AIDS Project, which has made, and continues to make, such an incredible contribution to the AIDS response. We accept this award on behalf of all people working to ensure that no one is left behind or excluded from life-saving HIV services,” said Ms Carlsson.

Ms Carlsson was joined on stage by Musah Lumumba El-nasoor, the Team Leader of the East and Southern Africa Youth Alliance on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV.

“UNAIDS is mobilizing political support, setting the pace and the global agenda, to ensure that science is matched with the necessary resources and tools to deliver results for all people, including those at the margins of society,” Mr El-nasoor said.

Named after one of the Desert AIDS Project’s earliest financial supporters, the designer Steve Chase, the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards ceremony is the biggest fundraising event of the year for the Desert AIDS Project and an important event on the Palm Springs social calendar.

Steve Chase died of an AIDS-related illness in 1994 at the age of 52 and left an incredible mark on the Desert AIDS Project through his philanthropic work and his ability to bring people together. The first Steve Chase Awards ceremony was held in his honour in 1995.

The Desert AIDS Project provides HIV prevention, treatment and care services to people living with and affected by HIV across the Palm Springs area. Established by a group of volunteers in 1984, the project is today raising funds to expand its Palm Springs campus. With the support of volunteers and donors, it is hoped that the newly raised funds will help meet the health-care needs of 10 000 people, many who are living with HIV.

The event was attended by around 2000 people and made more than US$ 1 million, which will be put towards the US$ 20 million needed for the Desert AIDS Project’s expansion plans. To date, the Desert AIDS Project has raised US$ 13 million towards its goal.

“With leadership provided by the United Nations, and specifically UNAIDS, all of us, including the Desert AIDS Project, working together will achieve what was previously thought of as impossible: the end of AIDS,” said David Brinkman, the Chief Executive Officer of the Desert AIDS Project.

Past award winners of the Science and Medicine Award include Michael Gottlieb, Desmond Tutu and Anthony Fauci.