AGPAHI was named in honor of Ariel Glaser, the daughter of U.S. pediatric AIDS advocate Elizabeth Glaser. Elizabeth contracted HIV through a blood transfusion while giving birth to Ariel, and unknowingly passed the virus on to Ariel through breast milk.

Ariel lost her battle with AIDS in 1988, and Elizabeth created the Pediatric AIDS Foundation to raise money for critical AIDS research for children. Elizabeth lost her own battle with AIDS in 1994, and to honor her legacy, the Pediatric AIDS Foundation was renamed the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) in 2004 on the 10th anniversary of her death.