Susan Smith Ellis, CEO of our sister organization (RED), has an article in the Huffington Post I thought readers would be interested in.

She offers her take on the vaccination report issued by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNAIDS that we blogged about recently.

Excerpts below. Read the full article here, and share with your friends!

There are now more than 4 million people on antiretroviral treatments; up from 3 million the previous year. Nearly half of all HIV positive pregnant women who need treatment to help prevent the transmission of HIV to their child during birth are now getting it. And, there are more people with access to testing and counseling for HIV than ever before. The greatest progress has been achieved in sub-Saharan Africa.

As the CEO of (RED), I’m extremely proud of the progress that has been made and the contributions made by our partners (through the sale of (RED)-branded products) to the Global Fund. To date, through the sale of those (RED)-branded products and some (RED)-sponsored special events, we have generated over $135 million for the Global Fund in less than three years.

But the story behind the numbers is much more profound. On recent trips to both Ghana and Rwanda, where (RED) grant money is at work, I was fortunate to be able to see firsthand the impact that access to lifesaving medicine has. I met with HIV positive mothers who were able to give birth to healthy babies because the medicine given to them during labor prevented the transmission of this deadly virus. I talked with doctors, nurses and other health care providers who spoke of the transformation of their own work. Where once they could offer little hope to someone with AIDS, now they can provide medicine that is transformative.

Our sister organization (RED) was featured on CNBC recently. It’s a great clip, and a really good illustration of the work (RED) does with the Global Fund.

Definitely worth a watch:

For those who might not have had a chance to peruse the (RED)TM site lately, I wanted to highlight the fantastic and truly interactive (RED)NIGHTS section. In case you’re not familiar, (RED)NIGHTS is ‘a concert series that saves lives’ featuring 26 concerts by different musicians including Santigold, Fall Out Boy, Built to Spill and many others in support of (RED)’s goal to eliminate AIDS in Africa. We blogged about “Hal Willner Presents: Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends”, which was the 16th concert in the series, here.

The web portion of the series relies heavily on users to share photos, videos, and tweets—a lot of which are then posted on the site. All told it is a very cool site, so be sure to check it out and share with your friends here.

As you know, a portion of profits from each (RED) product sold goes directly to the Global Fund to invest in African AIDS programs. To date, (RED) has generated over $135,000,000, which supports AIDS programs that have reached 4 million people.

On Sunday night in New York City, our friends at (RED) hosted “Hal Willner Presents: An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends,” a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall.

In part a birthday celebration for Gavin Friday, a notable Irish musician in his own right, the night welcomed an array of performers and was also part of the (RED)NIGHTS concert series, generating support and awareness of (RED)’s goal to eliminate AIDS in Africa. Learn more about (RED)NIGHTS here.

As the evening unfolded, the members of U2, Scarlett Johansson, Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, Lady Gaga and Rufus Wainwright and others all took their turns on stage. Lou Reed also stopped in for an impromptu performance along with his wife Laurie Anderson and numerous other special guests.

What a show.

You can read more about it here.

-Chris Geer, NY Field Organizer

You’re not going to want to miss “An Evening with Gavin Friday,” a star-studded concert our friends at (RED) are hosting this Sunday, October 4 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The concert features Laurie Anderson, Antony, Elizabeth Ashley, Bono, Adam Clayton, Andrea Corr, The Edge, Flo & Eddie, Joel Grey, Bill Frisell, Guggi, Scarlett Johansson, Shane MacGowan, Eric Mingus, Larry Mullen Jr., JG Thirlwell, Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Chloe Webb, plus other special guests.

You can buy tickets to the show here.

Hal Willner presents an “Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends” which is part of the (RED)NIGHTS concert series. Each show contributes a portion of the proceeds directly to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. You can learn more about the (RED)NIGHTS series here.

Hope to see you at the show Sunday.

-Chris Geer