The WEEPI Foundation
The Western-Eastern European Partnership Initiative on HIV, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis (WEEPI) Foundation was established in October 2018 as a Swiss legal entity.
The overall aim of the WEEPI Foundation is to improve quality of care for people with HIV, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis (TB) in the eastern European region through support of clinical or implementation research projects.
Since the first call for proposals was launched in October 2019, the Foundation has continued to grow with an increasing number of projects, a well-established and transparent project selection mechanism and ongoing research capacity development – all leading to sustainable results and impact for people living with HIV, viral hepatitis and TB in the eastern European region.
In line with the Foundation’s overall aim, funded projects aim at improving the quality of care for people living with HIV, viral hepatitis or tuberculosis, by focusing on at least two of the following aspects:
- Reduction of barriers to testing, prevention and treatment for HIV, viral hepatitis and TB, including stigmatization and focusing on key population groups
- Improved quality of care, including adoption of European guidance (EACS, WHO, ECDC) into national guidelines and standards and implementation of quality control instruments to improve standard of care
- Generating evidence on new approaches to improve testing, prevention and care services for HIV, viral hepatitis and TB (including linkage to care)
- Building partnership with other health institutions at national and/or international level
- Capacity building at national level, including through advanced training, education and e-learning activities.
The Foundation is governed by an Executive Board which sets the overall strategic direction of the Foundation. An Advisory Board consisting of leading European experts advises the Executive Board on the selection of proposals for funding based on the results of an expert peer-review process covering all eligible project proposals.