The International HIV/AIDS Alliance (The Alliance) and the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) are the inaugural recipients of the $10 million LGBT Fund. Sponsored by the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the fund works to end violence, discrimination and stigma faced by the LGBT community across the globe.

The Alliance and MSMGF will then provide small grants and expertise regarding stigma and discrimination to communities in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Sir Elton John and Ambassador Deborah L. Birx launched the fund in November 2015 to address the stigma, discrimination and violence that affect the LGBT community.

EJAF and PEPFAR will work together with UNAIDS and other partners on the fund, in hopes of ending AIDS by 2030. To do that, they’re focusing on increasing access to services in countries with a high HIV burden, including three that PEPFAR already supports.

Sir Elton John, who founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, said in a press release:

“Establishing The LGBT Fund between EJAF and PEPFAR is something we’ve worked towards for a long time in our attempts to make a real and lasting difference in HIV awareness, education and prevention. Just earlier today we visited Anova clinic, a project both EJAF and PEPFAR have funded in the past. The work they are doing through their ‘We the Brave’ programme, the first large-scale campaign ever in South Africa to address both prevention and treatment issues in an affirming, non-judgmental and sex positive way, is something for us all to be incredibly proud of. We look forward to building long-standing relationships with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (The Alliance) and the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF) in a similar way.”

To learn more about the Elton John AIDS Foundation, visit EJAF.org.

To learn more about U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, visit PEPFAR.gov.