Inaugural GLOWS Grants totalling $2.3M awarded to Indigenous-led projects focused on HIV and viral hepatitis
Gilead Sciences Australia and Lowitja Institute
- Ten grants funded through the first round of the Guiding Local Opportunities for Wellbeing (GLOWS) Indigenous Health Grant program spanning community-controlled research, knowledge-sharing events and early-career training.
- GLOWS is a three-year partnership between Lowitja Institute and Gilead Sciences to support Indigenous-led HIV and viral hepatitis initiatives.
- AUD$4.4 million investment over three years, the largest single commitment Gilead Sciences has made in Indigenous health in Australia, underlying the company’s commitment to supporting health equity.
Melbourne, Australia – 6 August 2025 – Gilead Sciences Australia today announced the inaugural recipients of the Guiding Local Opportunities for Wellbeing (GLOWS) Indigenous Health Grant program. The three-year AUD$4.4 million collaboration with Australia’s only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health research institute, Lowitja Institute, is designed to support Indigenous-designed and led solutions that advance community health and wellbeing in Indigenous communities, as Australia strives to reach its HIV and viral hepatitis 2030 elimination goals.1,2
The first round of GLOWS grants totalling $2.3M, funded 10 grants and public health scholarships, aimed at supporting the efforts of Indigenous leaders, community-controlled organisations and early-researchers to increase health equity and address the disparities that continue to drive the transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis within Indigenous communities. The program invests across three priority areas identified by Indigenous leaders: prevention and education, individual and community agency and reformed models of care.
“GLOWS gives us two things our communities have asked for. First, it builds a pipeline of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and practitioners who can walk with our peoples on the journey to eliminate HIV and viral hepatitis. Second, it directs funds straight to community-controlled organisations so they can design and deliver the care models that work for our mob. This first-of-its-kind partnership with Gilead is about taking meaningful steps to replace unsuitable models of care with culturally safe, evidence-driven solutions,” said Rosemary Smith, Executive Manager, Policy and Consulting, Lowitja Institute.
Two large grants, each valued at AUD $800,000 over two years, have been awarded to the partnership of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) and the University of Queensland - to trial a community‑controlled outreach model aimed at eliminating hepatitis C in South East Queensland - and to a separate University of Queensland‑led team that will work with Aboriginal community controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) on a system‑wide redesign of HIV and viral hepatitis care, spanning testing through to long‑term management.
“The projects chosen for this first round highlight the depth and expertise within our communities. Each recipient is charting a practical path to elimination while growing our own workforce of Indigenous researchers and clinicians. That’s the impact we envisaged when we created GLOWS,” said Ms Smith.
While Indigenous Australian leadership is already re-shaping Australia’s HIV and viral hepatitis response within Indigenous communities, key inequities persist. HIV notification rates remain 1.3 times higher for Indigenous Australians3, hepatitis C notifications are 4.5 times higher3, and Indigenous Australians account for 19 percent of Australian-born people living with chronic hepatitis B.4
“GLOWS is how we turn our commitment to reconciliation into genuine action,” said Dr Paul Slade, Senior Country Medical Director, Gilead Sciences Australia. “By listening first and putting resources and decision-making power in the hands of Indigenous peoples and organisations, we are following their lead in tackling HIV and viral hepatitis. We are proud to partner with Lowitja Institute, backing community-designed research and care models. Congratulations to every inaugural GLOWS recipient. We thank you for leadership and support your commitment to progress against Australia’s HIV and viral hepatitis elimination goals across communities,” Dr Slade added.
2024-2025 GLOWS Grant Recipients
|
Grant type |
Organisation / focus |
|
Large Research Grants |
Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS), University of Queensland (UQ) - exploring transformative potential of community-controlled outreach model to eliminate hepatitis C in South East Queensland
University of Queensland - system-wide redesign of HIV/viral hepatitis models of care with ACCHOs
|
|
Medium Research Grant |
Danila Dilba Health Service and Menzies School of Health Research - improving the hepatitis B cascade of care in Darwin’s top end
|
|
National Gathering Grants |
VACCHO and Burnet Institute and Anwernekenhe National HIV Alliance together with Health Equity Matters - national skills-sharing forums to tackle stigma and strengthen Indigenous health workforce
|
|
Scholarships (5) |
Supporting the next generation of Indigenous public health leaders from UNSW, UQ, University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University |
For more information on the Guiding Local Opportunities for Wellbeing (GLOWS) Grant Program, visit https://www.lowitja.org.au/research/research-grants/glows-grant-program/.
ENDS
For all information enquiries, please contact Gilead on 1800 806 112 (within Australia) or email [email protected].
About the Guiding Local Opportunities for Wellbeing (GLOWS) Indigenous Health Grant Program
The GLOWS Indigenous Health Grant Program is a co-created initiative with Lowitja Institute, led and designed by Indigenous Australians. The GLOWS program channels funding through five grant types - large, medium, seeding and gathering grants and scholarships - to foster Indigenous-led innovation across prevention and education, individual and community agency, and reformed healthcare models, focussing on HIV and viral hepatitis. The program consists of a financial commitment of AUD$4.4 million over three years (2024-2026) to further increase health equity and work towards elimination.
https://www.lowitja.org.au/research/research-grants/glows-grant-program/.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. Based in Melbourne, Gilead Sciences Australia and New Zealand employs over 100 people.
References:
- Australian Government. Ninth National HIV Strategy 2024 -2030. Available at: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-12/ninth-national-hiv-strategy-2024-2030.pdf
Accessed July 2025. - Australian Government. Sixth National Hepatitis C Strategy 2023-2030. Available at: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-05/draft-sixth-national-hepatitis-c-strategy-2023-2030-for-public-consultation.pdf Accessed July 2025.
- National Indigenous Australians Agency. February 2023. 1.12 HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections. Available at: https://www.indigenoushpf.gov.au/measures/1-12-hiv-hepatitis-and-sti Accessed July 2025
- MacLachlan, J.H., Allard, N., Towell, V. and Cowie, B.C. (2013), The burden of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in Australia, 2011. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 37: 416-422. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12049. Accessed July 2025.
Gilead, the Gilead logo and the Creating Possible tagline are registered trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc.Gilead Sciences Pty Ltd. Level 28, 385 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ABN 71 072 611 708. AU-COR-0179 Date of preparation: August 2025.
Contact details:
Susannah Wade
+61 477 000 682