Apple Launches A Red iPhone 7 Globally To Combat The Scourge Of HIV/AIDS

Apple just released a red iPhone 7– and yes a red one without the usual fanfare associated with such announcements. The red phone will be available globally and is intended to add to the available colours of black and metallic that the iPhone 7 comes in.

That said, the new product is for a cause in line with Apple’s decade old contribution to the Product (RED)’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. Beginning in 2006 with the iPod Nano, Apple has produced a couple of red products like its battery cases and headphones but never have they produced a red iPhone or iPad for this purpose.

This then means that a part of the sales proceeds on the new product will go to The Global Fund which has been used in the past to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS in many countries including a couple in Africa. So far it seems Apple has donated over $130m to the fund.

The red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Special Edition is available in 128GB ($749 and $849 for the iPhon7) and 356GB ($869 and $969 for the iPhone 7 Plus). The new phone will be available in retail stores and on the Apple site starting this Friday.

Here are some stats (as provided by DoSomething.org) on why Apple’s action on HIV/AIDS contributions by Apple is important;

1. Out of the 34 million HIV-positive people worldwide, 69% live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are roughly 23.8 million infected persons in all of Africa.
2. 91% of the world’s HIV-positive children live in Africa.
3. More than one million adults and children die every year from HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. In 2011, 1.7 million people worldwide died from AIDS.
4. Since the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, more than 75 million people have contracted the illness, and over 36 million have died from an HIV-related cause.
5. 71% of the HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2011 were people living in Africa.