Deepening our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The beginning of a new year provides?both?a sense of renewal and?a?chance?to?commit to goals and opportunities for growth in the coming year.??Building upon?the last?eighteen months of learning?and listening with deep humility, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation?(EGPAF)?is?working?to deepen our?commitment?to?addressing the stark?inequities that?fuel pandemics?across?the?globe?and stand in the way?of?an?AIDS-free generation.?EGPAF was founded over?30?years ago?in the?United States?to end the?injustices?that existed for children living with HIV.?Today we are a global, multinational,?multicultural organization,?with more than 95% of our staff leading critical programs within their home countries in Africa.??

As a global team,?we have been?working to?enhance and reframe our approach to?diversity, equity, inclusion,?and belonging?(DEI&B)?across all of the countries and contexts in which we work.?This includes?a strategic?focus on health equity to address the systemic barriers that fuel pandemics, including HIV,?in marginalized communities.?Differences in lived experiences are a source of?EGPAF’s?strength?as an organization. Embracing?DEI&B?at?EGPAF means valuing, respecting,?and learning from each person’s unique qualities and abilities in order to fulfill and strengthen our vision and mission.??

EGPAF has taken steps to?focus?our?investment in?DEI&B across the organization?by infusing?DEI&B?initiatives?throughout our culture and operations. This includes attracting?the most diverse pool of candidates—to?give all applicants, regardless of background, an equal opportunity.?We?are?also?prioritizing?the diversity of our leadership teams across the?entire?organization?by ensuring that development?and advancement opportunities are clear for marginalized employees at every level.?We are?actively?recruiting?for a?DEI&B?director?to lead the execution of EGPAF’s?DEI&B?strategy?and to?accelerate?and?standardize?our efforts?in all of the countries where we work. This will include?investing dedicated resources to meet our DEI&B goals,?engaging staff through?trainings,?developing?new approaches,?maintaining?regular?communication?on DEI&B issues and initiatives,?and measuring?progress.?Our DEI&B strategy and a summary of our work progress will be shared and regularly updated on our?website.

?As a multifaceted organization with staff across the globe,?our strongest resource is the expertise, diversity,?and lived experiences?of our teams.?We commit to listening, learning, and empowering?our staff and the communities we serve.?With?the majority?of our staff working in Africa and?with?dedicated?African leadership in each of our country offices,?we will continue to?share and shift leadership?and further empower?country teams?by?clarifying and expanding global?policies, guidelines,?and processes.??

We understand that?entrenched racial and power imbalances?exist?in the global development community, often rooted in the legacy of colonialism.?Colleagues have shared experiences related to tribal identity and ethnicity in the workplace?that?can create?unfairness and bias, sometimes dividing and marginalizing the?citizens?of a country or region.?EGPAF?staff?is working?to better?understand?what decolonization means?both within our sector and our?organization and?determine?how?we?can acknowledge, adapt,?and evolve in?effective?ways.?EGPAF is committed to?using our voice to uphold the values we embrace as a global community—equality, justice,?and rights for all people,?regardless of color, creed, sexual orientation, gender, disability, nationality,?or ethnic origin.?We will?continue to?prioritize engagement around these?complex matters?across the organization,?listening more closely and seeking better understanding --?knowing that we won’t?solve?these systemic problems—but will?work to hold ourselves accountable?to?do better,?as we pursue our mission to end AIDS in children, youth,?and families.??