History of the stephen lewis foundation

The Stephen Lewis Foundation is a progressive, feminist organization rooted in the principles of social justice, international solidarity, and substantive equality. The SLF was created with the express purpose of supporting community-led organizations working on the frontlines of the HIV epidemic in countries across Africa.

Many of these grassroots organizations were originally formed by small groups of individuals responding to the crisis AIDS had wrought in their own lives and in the lives of their neighbours. Over the years, they have developed into thriving local institutions with deep connections to their communities. The Stephen Lewis Foundation is ideological, and actively strives to meet the highest ethical and human rights standards in all of our work, including our policies and processes.

We feel deeply accountable to the people and organizations we work with in Africa.

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The care, intensity, imagination, and sense of urgency with which we carry out this work reflects the depth of our commitment and the dedication of our staff members, volunteers, and supporters. These values and principles guide us in our decision-making and in challenging and shifting dominant paradigms around fundraising, partnering, and international development.

We advocate for global health and philanthropic communities to engage in partnering, fundraising, and international development that shifts power to community-led organizations, and dismantles the inequalities driving the HIV epidemic. The Stephen Lewis Foundation is a feminist organization rooted in the principles of anti-colonialism and anti-racism.

Our values reflect how these principles are expressed in our work, and in our relationships with partners, donors and supporters. We are united with all who pursue justice in the HIV movement, including our African community-led partners whose expertise is critical to ending the epidemic, and with other justice-seeking movements working for a more equitable world.