TV Host And Breast Cancer Survivor Ananda Lewis Partners With Gilead Sciences To Encourage Equity In Healthcare

The renowned media personality has teamed up with Gilead Sciences in its commitment to support disinvested communities that continue to lack access to quality health care.

In the company’s latest initiative, the team partnered up with Mary J. Blige’s Strength of A Woman Festival to sponsor a host of activities dedicated to furthering the conversation about wellbeing. 

It’s a conversation that Lewis knows all too well.

As a breast cancer survivor, working alongside Gilead is a full-circle moment for the former host of BET’s “Teen Summit.”

“When I found out that Gilead Sciences is committed to advancing health and Black equity, those two things together, advancing health and Black equity, are exactly what I’m trying to do,” Lewis told AfroTech during the event. “Mine is a little more niche to Black women and breast cancer, right? But that is Black equity and health, and when I found out the level of their commitment to that, I was like, ‘Who are these people?’”

She continued, “They’re doing the work. Their money is where their mouth is, and I respect companies like that.”

Lewis’ discussion, which was centered around keeping the faith in the midst of a breast cancer diagnosis, reiterated Gilead’s goal to transform the community through the work that it’s doing.

“At Gilead, we are all about thinking through how we can not just have a transactional conversation and engagement with community, but really, a transformative one, and so this conference, for us, is all about widening the table,” Gilead Sciences Senior Director Omoro Omoighe said. “We believe that communities have the solutions for the challenges that face them, especially black women. We’ve been pioneering homegrown solutions to our health challenges, political challenges, social challenges. This is about really wiping the table saying, ‘Come have a seat, come talk to us about what you need,’ and really giving them the stage to amplify what they need, and giving the company a chance to also partner to think through ways that we can keep that support going in an intentional and a long-term way.”

For Lewis, the goal was to have event attendees walk away with a reminder to put themselves first when it comes to their health and leaning on companies like Gilead for support when needed.

“Our panel is all about the intersection of health and your faith, so I want them to walk away with a renewed sense of how important it is to have that faith strong before it gets tested,” she said. “For me, prevention is the cure, and I want women to understand that every single day, having faith in God, for me, means taking care of what God created.”