Campaigns

Courtesy of the World Bank

For many in West Africa, the road network is a vital socio-economic lifeline but it can also be a way for the spread of HIV. An ambitious programme, the World Bank Abidjan-Lagos Transport Corridor (ALCO) project, has seen marked success in helping people living and working along this highway to reduce their vulnerability to HIV. ALCO’s results, opportunities and challenges are analyzed in a recent World Bank report, part of its HIV/AIDS in Africa: Getting Results series.

The report highlights that HIV prevalence in the transport sector is higher than in the general population, and with some 14 million people travelling along the 1,000 kilometre corridor each year, need for an effective intervention was clear.

The ALCO project, set up in 2004 and sustained since 2007 by a grant from the Global Fund, identified some of the circumstances on the road stretching from Cote d’Ivoire to Nigeria conducive to high risk behaviour. For example, many truck drivers and other mobile workers spend large amounts of time away from their families and often have multiple partners. These include sex workers and others living along the highway and around truck stops.

The aim of the project was to provide HIV prevention services to people in these areas such as truck drivers, sex workers, travellers, border communities and military and customs officials.

Project plan

Multiple partners participated in the project, including national and local government and the health and transport sectors. Stakeholders were brought together on a number of levels and often with distinct concerns and priorities. 87 implementing agencies were engaged in total, with the World Bank offering targeted technical support. UNAIDS, according to the report, provided technical and financial support and was crucial in bringing the project to completion.

The programme had three facets. The first one involved HIV prevention and concentrated on behaviour change, increase HIV awareness and condom distribution. In three and a half years, more than 600 condom sales points were set up along the route and nearly nine million condoms distributed.

The second component, care and support, included providing voluntary HIV counselling and testing, community based care, diagnosis of opportunistic and sexually transmitted infections and antiretroviral treatment.

The final aspect involved inter-country coordination, training and policies to maximise the benefits of working across borders on a regional project, and reduce the long waits at border crossings.

Results

Several lessons were learned, such as the importance of the strong participation of HIV-positive people: the West African Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS was a key partner. According to the project’s managers, the integral involvement of PLHIV and the sense of their ownership of the project helped to make it a success. There was also a harmonised, cross-border, evidence-based communications strategy which provided consistent messaging, emphasised community participation and engaging gatekeepers, built communications capacity in both traditional and non-traditional service providers and paid specific attention to gender issues.

By the end of the project’s first phase, some 28,000 people along the corridor had accessed voluntary HIV counselling and testing services and nearly 1,500 border town residents had been trained as key community AIDS information, education and communications activists.

HIV prevention knowledge increased dramatically in the target populations, from 50-68% to 83-88%. Condom use at last encounter increased significantly, and prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections among sex workers fell markedly. Other knock-on effects have included an increased commitment to workplace AIDS programmes in the transport sector.

Challenges

The project has not been without challenges. From programme materials to systems and the forging of new partnerships had to be set up from scratch. Building grassroots capacity was described in the report as difficult and costly. The cross-border nature of the project also required a huge effort in coordination, time and diplomacy, with a need to work in both English and French and an array of local languages.

However, the Corridor project has made a real and measurable difference in HIV-related knowledge and behaviour amongst people living along West Africa’s Abidjan to Lagos transport route. The five year follow-on grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is making it possible to sustain this success.

According to the report, “Perhaps the most important contributions of the Abidjan- Lagos Corridor Project have been bringing HIV prevention programmes to very hard-to-reach and vulnerable people and establishing a platform for regional integration beyond AIDS and transportation.”

Campaign materials with HIV prevention messages will be sent to 800 000 households in Brazil.
Credit: M. de Sousa Silva

For the first time in Brazil, post offices will join efforts to prevent new HIV infections. The local take on the global campaign “Post Offices Fighting Against AIDS”, was launched Tuesday 9 February in a post office in Brasilia, the capital of the country.

Brazil, with an estimated 730 000 people living with HIV, is one of seven pilot-countries participating in this global initiative launched in 2009 by UNAIDS, Universal Postal Union (UPU), International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNI Global Union. The objective is to mobilize the network of 660,000 post offices around the world in the AIDS response.

The campaign will span more than 12 000 Post Offices in Brazil. Materials includes leaflets, posters, post-cards and a special letter with HIV prevention messages – all adapted to the Brazilian context.

For example, the international slogan “Your post office cares” has been adapted to include an explicit prevention message: “The post offices are fighting against AIDS. What about you? Protect yourself: use condoms.”

The Minister of Health, Mr. José Gomes Temporão stressed the confidence and recognition of national post offices in Brazil and reinforced the commitment of the Brazilian government to the fight against prejudice, discrimination and to the consolidation of an inclusive and human rights based policy in the response to AIDS when speaking at the launch.

In the campaign’s first phase, materials will be distributed in the Federal District–where Brasilia is located–and in the priority regions of Amazonas and Bahia, states were UNAIDS and other UN agencies implement a joint programme to support the HIV response.

José Gomes Temporão, Minister of Health, and Carlos Henrique Custódio, the National Post Office President, at the launch of the post office HIV prevention campaign. Brasilia, 9 February, 2010.
Credit: M. de Sousa Silva

The Brazilian effort goes beyond the international initiative by delivering around 800 000 letters with HIV prevention messages to households in pilot regions. So for the first time ever in the country, families will receive HIV prevention information at home, through a special mail service delivery.

During the launch event, UNAIDS country coordinator for Brazil Mr Pedro Chequer said, “The post office, with its wide reaching distribution network, offers a strategic entry point to reach the general population and post office staff with HIV prevention messages. A multi-sectoral approache like this campaign will strengthen the AIDS response in the Brazil”.

For the campaign, a special web site has been launched containing information on AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, details about the campaign with all campaign materials available for download and distribution. The web site includes a quiz for evaluation of personal HIV risk and a “contact us” section, coordinated by UNAIDS.

A special stamp has also been developed, containing the symbol of the campaign. The President of the National Post Offices in Brazil, Mr. Carlos Henrique Custódio highlighted the importance of such an initiative to be launched just before Carnival, when HIV prevention initiatives are reinforced by the government.

Pedro Chequer, UNAIDS country coordinator for Brazil spoke of the importance of a multi-sectoral approach in the AIDS response. Brasilia, 9 February, 2010. Credit: M. de Sousa Silva

In a second phase of the campaign, the International Labour Organization will support the development of a toolkit for postal employers to inform their staff about HIV in Brazil.

The “Post Offices Fighting Against AIDS” campaign is a partnership between the Brazilian Ministry of Communications, the National Post Offices, UNAIDS, the Ministry of Health, ILO, UPU, UNI Global Union and the National Federation of Employees from Post Offices, Telegraphs and related enterprises. The first phase of this global campaign will reach postal customers and post office staff in seven countries,Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Estonia, Mali and Nigeria.

Contact: UNAIDS Brazil – (55 61) 3038 9220 or imprensabrasil@unaids.org

Luis Agois President of the Peruvian Press Council, Renate Ehmer, UNAIDS Coordinator for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia and Jorge Chediek, Resident Representative of the UN system at the launch of the new campaign.
Credit: UNAIDS/UNDP/CPP

In Peru, 76 000 people are living with HIV. While HIV prevalence in the general population is relatively low at 0.5%, the men who have sex with men and the transgender communities have been hard hit by the epidemic with an estimated prevalence of 10.8% and 32% respectively.

A range of complex social prejudices result in people living with the HIV being frequently subject to discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

To counter stigma towards people living with HIV in Peru a new campaign was launched in November 2009; a joint initiative by UNAIDS, UNDP and the Peruvian Press Council.

The purpose of the multimedia campaign, entitled “An image against stigma and discrimination caused by HIV and AIDS”, is to create a supportive environment for people living with HIV, free of discrimination and fear.

Speaking at the launch, the President of the Peruvian Press Council Luis Agois noted the role media can play. “Our contribution is the broadcasting of this campaign, an initiative which has been enthusiastically joined by the press in general in Peru.”

Fear of social repercussions and the discrimination that might result from a positive HIV test, many Peruvians avoid leaning their HIV status according to Jorge Chediek, Resident Representative of the UN system, further jeopardizing their health. “As a consequence, they can’t access treatment; and HIV treatment in Peru is free.”

Renate Ehmer, UNAIDS Coordinator for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia highlighted the extreme expressions of stigma and discriminations that result in violence, “hate crimes; when men and women are killed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“Estimates by civil society organizations reveal that an increasing number of hate crimes are taking place every year, most of which go unpunished,” Ms Ehmer continued.

The campaign brings together Peruvian celebrities and people living with HIV who appear on posters and brochures and distributed nation-wide.

The high profile participants include Javier Velasquez Quesquen, Head of the Cabinet of Ministers; Javier Villa Stein, President of the Judiciary; Oscar Ugarte, Minister of Health; Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Antonio Brack, Minister of Environment; Monsignor Bambaren, Nolberto Solano, football players, members of the music group Grupo 5 and comedian Carlos Alvarez as well as Economist Hernando de Soto.

Two short films have also been produced as part of the campaign and can be watched here:
An image against stigma and discrimination caused by HIV and AIDS vol 1
An image against stigma and discrimination caused by HIV and AIDS vol 2

From right: Mr Huang Jiefu, Vice Minister of Health on behalf of the Government of China, UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé and civil society representative jointly launched the nationwide anti-stigma campaign. Beijing, 27 November 2009.
Credit: UNAIDS/Zhou Dao

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and the Chinese Vice-Minister of Health, Huang Jiefu, launched a campaign in Beijing earlier today to address HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Chinese basketball star Yao Ming and a group of fans that include people living with HIV are the face of the campaign which features two videos and a poster.

Congratulating Mr Ming on his commitment to spread awareness about HIV, Mr Sidibé said, “It is an inspiration to have celebrity as famous as Yao Ming take a leadership role in addressing this issue. I hope others will follow his excellent example.”

In the campaign, Yao Ming is encouraging people in China and all over the world to help change attitudes and stop stigma and discrimination, “Like all of us, my friends who are living with HIV should have the opportunity to live full and dignified lives.”

Members from organizations of people living with HIV and other partners were also part of the launch ceremony.

The campaign responds to findings from a recently launched China Stigma Index report that measures stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV in China. The report, the first of its kind in China, surveyed more than 2000 respondents living with HIV. The data are collected by people living with HIV themselves. The survey report is the result of efforts of networks of people living with HIV and other key stakeholders including the Institute of Social Development Research of the Chinese Central Party School, the Marie Stopes International project ‘Positive Talks’ and UNAIDS. The work is part of a global project to document AIDS-related discrimination.

“People living with HIV should not be forced to live in the shadows,” said Yu Xuan who is HIV positive and a consultant for ‘Positive Talks’. “This data collection project has clearly shown that people living with HIV need to be part of the response to AIDS. By working together we can make a big difference.”

The study shows that 42% of respondents reported having faced some type of HIV-related discrimination. It also showed that 12% of respondents said they had been refused medical care at least once since they tested positive.

Dr Jiefu commented, “China has always made anti-discrimination education an important part of its response to AIDS. The Chinese government is committed to continuing to work together with the international community, including UNAIDS, and to doing more to eliminate discrimination.”

Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director presents the China Stigma Index Report at launch in Beijing, 27 November 2009.
Credit: UNAIDS/Zhou Dao

Many of the surveyed respondents said they had been refused antiretroviral treatment, refused family planning services and reproductive health services since being diagnosed HIV positive. 17% said they had been recommended by a health professional not to have children and some had been pressurised into undergoing sterilization by a healthcare professional. Some of the female respondents said they had been pressurised into terminating a pregnancy by medical staff or family planning department staff.
The China Stigma Index survey also found that one quarter of medical staff and more than one third of government officials and teachers develop more negative and discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV after learning of their HIV positive status.

A significant proportion of people living with HIV reported having lost their job, having been forced to leave school or move out of their home or even having found that their family members experienced discrimination in various forms, as a result of their HIV status.

China, together with India, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea, is home to 82% of people living with HIV in the Asia-Pacific region.

HIV remains a formidable challenge in China with several factors fuelling the epidemic, including shame, fear, stigma and discrimination; low awareness of HIV within the general population; rural poverty; mobility; availability and affordability of prostitution; a rapidly expanding community of men who have sex with men; and injecting drug use.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Information and Communication, Mr Alhaji Aliyu Ikra Bilbis, launched the campaign.
Credit: UNAIDS

To mark World Post Day on 9 October, Nigeria held a national launch of a global awareness campaign in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union, UNAIDS, the ILO and UNI Global.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Information and Communication, Mr Alhaji Aliyu Ikra Bilbis, launched the campaign by calling for the involvement of more stakeholders to support the government in the AIDS response in a comprehensive manner, adding, “Nigeria has demonstrated dynamism in the response to HIV.”

While congratulating Nigeria Post (Nipost) on its latest effort towards contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the spread of HIV by 2015, UNAIDS Country Coordinator Dr Warren Naamara said, “Nigeria has shown her commitment to achieving this MDG goal, but there is still a need to get more stakeholders and players on board so that the country’s response to HIV reaches even more people.”

Dr Naamara encouraged Nipost to collaborate with the country’s National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the State Agencies for the Control of HIV to build a sustainable comprehensive multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS.

This innovative campaign provides post office visitors and employees with important information about how to prevent HIV through a series of eye-catching posters and hand-outs. The materials also give the address of a multi-language website on HIV prevention, hosted by UNAIDS, which provides detailed information about how to prevent infection.

The campaign in Nigeria is part of the first phase in a series of similar drives undertaken by the participating agencies in six other countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Estonia and Mali. The countries were chosen because of their HIV prevalence rates and to give a broad geographical spread. Nigeria has an HIV prevalence of 3.1% and ranks second only to South Africa in terms of the number of people living with HIV.

UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé has commended the campaign for its innovativeness, saying, “The postal network has an extremely wide outreach; it is open to everyone from the young to the old and is an excellent and innovative way to raise awareness about how to prevent HIV.”

The Postmaster General of Nigeria Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba read a statement at the launch.
Credit: UNAIDS

During the first phase, nearly 24,000 post offices in seven countries are displaying and distributing information materials with more UPU member countries expected to join later. For the second phase, ILO is preparing a toolkit for postal employers to inform their staff about HIV. UNI Global, a global union which brings together over 900 trade unions representing over 15 million members worldwide, is working closely with the postal departments and trade unions for this phase. The third phase is planned for 2011, where the UPU will invite its member countries to issue a stamp to commemorate the identification of AIDS in 1981.

In many parts of the world, post offices already have a social role by promoting public health messages within their community. Over the next three years, the campaign will be expanded globally, potentially making its way into 600,000 post offices worldwide. This would mean that millions of people who use postal services every day as well as the 5.5 million postal employees worldwide would receive important information about how to prevent HIV transmission.

ITU TELECOM WORLD 2009 welcomes Youth Forum participants.
Credit: ITU / F. Rouzioux

Digital and technological revolutions have dramatically changed the way in which people communicate around the world. Many communities in developing countries don’t yet have access to computers and the internet however according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) an estimated 2.2 billion mobile phone users lived in developing countries by end 2008 – 64% of the global market. Estimates show that by 2012, half of all individuals in remote areas of the world, who often do not have access to clean running water, electricity or the Internet, will have mobile phones.

H.E. Mr Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General and Dr Hamadoun Touré Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) observing the vibrant Opening Ceremony of TELECOM 2009
Credit: ITU / F. Rouzioux

The ITU is gathering the global telecommunications sector together in Geneva this week for Telecom WORLD 2009. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the conference on 5 October. Delegates will explore areas of societal change including the digital divide, climate change, and disaster relief. With its focus on development opportunities, the event brings together corporate social responsibility and displays cases of best practices.

The explosion of mobile technology presents a great opportunity to scale up the AIDS response in poor countries.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé is convinced of the value of this approach. “Communication tools are reaching more and more people even in the most remote villages. They connect us all into a global community,” he said.

“Harnessing technology in creative ways will help us reach people in need. I want universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services to be as ubiquitous as mobile phone coverage,” Mr Sidibé continued.

Through mobile technology, the millions of people in developing countries who had been left behind by the digital divide are now able to access health information and healthcare services at their fingertips. Mobile phones are being used as low-cost tools for HIV testing, data collection, epidemic tracking, and training of health workers, HIV prevention and treatment support.

Some innovative examples include the HIV awareness and testing campaign via SMS (“Text to Change”, Uganda); HIV testing and treatment support with mobile phones (“Project Masiluleke”, South Africa); strengthening health systems via mobile phones (“Phones for Health”, Rwanda); and smart cards to monitor HIV patients (India and Zambia). These are a small part of the growing field of mHealth, whereby mobile communications, such as mobile phones and portable digital assistants (PDAs), are used for health services and information. mHealth programmes are gaining prominence in regions worldwide.

SMS messages can help change behaviour

Short message service (SMS) messages now offer a cost-effective, and efficient method of disseminating health messages in developing countries. According to the UN Foundation report mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World, formal studies and anecdotal evidence demonstrate that SMS alerts have a greater impact in influencing behaviour than radio and television campaigns.

SMS alerts are also relatively unobtrusive, offering the user confidentiality in environments where HIV is often taboo. In developing countries, SMS alerts have proven highly effective in targeting hard-to-reach populations in rural areas, where the absence of clinics, lack of healthcare workers and limited access to health information often prevent people from making informed decisions about their health.

SMS campaigns on HIV testing and treatment support

A growing number of countries, largely in Africa, are partnering with local mobile phone carriers to launch HIV awareness and testing campaigns via SMS. These campaigns have been particularly effective in providing young people with the facts about HIV and encouraging them to get tested. Mobile phones have also been used to encourage people living with HIV to take their medication and go to their medical appointments. Taking HIV medication regularly is crucial to avoiding drug resistance. 

Project Masiluleke uses mobile technology to encourage South Africans to get tested for HIV. It sends one million “Please call me” text messages each day throughout South Africa, encouraging people to get tested and treated for HIV. The SMS messages are written in local languages, and are used to direct users to the National AIDS Helpline. Once patients call, the hotline representatives provide information on HIV testing services and locations. Knowing one’s HIV status is critical in a country where almost 20% of the population is living with HIV, but less than 3% know their status.

Using mobile technology for diagnosis and data collection

Health workers in remote areas with no health facilities are now able to diagnose and provide treatment support to people living with HIV through wireless access to medical information databases or medical staff. As a result, patients are able to receive treatment in their villages and homes.

Furthermore, data collection from remote areas is much faster, reliable and more efficient through mobile technology. Innovative initiatives such as “Phones for Health” are helping to close the information gap that exists for patient data in developing countries, allowing decision-makers to make smarter investments by allocating resources where they are needed most. Data collection is a crucial component of HIV programmes in developing countries as policymakers and health providers at the national, district and community level need accurate data to determine the effectiveness of existing programmes and shape new policies. 

GIS mapping to strengthen HIV programmes

WHO in collaboration with its partners is strengthening HIV surveillance, prevention and treatment programmes in countries by using a global information and mapping system compiled through remote field data collection tools, wireless applications and satellite systems. This allows WHO to monitor and analyze the epidemiological trends in HIV infection worldwide as well as the effectiveness of HIV prevention and treatment programmes. For example, the data collected through the mapping system can help health experts determine which health centres have sufficient stock of antiretrovirals (ARVs).

Web-based technology to fight HIV

In addition to mobile technology, web-based technology is also revolutionizing the way health information is disseminated across the globe. A large proportion of people worldwide are now able to access information about HIV transmission, prevention, care and treatment with the click of a mouse.

When it comes to educating young people about HIV, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and its Cosponsors, particularly UNICEF, UNFPA and The World Bank, are using the web in innovative ways to disseminate messages about HIV prevention.

In 1998, UNAIDS and UNICEF partnered with MTV to launch the award-winning Staying Alive campaign. Ten years later, it has become the world’s largest, youth-focused, HIV prevention campaign. UNICEF’s Voices of Youth website offers young people a safe and supportive space where they can explore, discuss and partner on health, development and human rights issues, including ways to stop the spread of HIV. 

Tapping into viral communication trends

Social media networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are gaining popularity worldwide. These examples of viral communication encourage greater interactivity whereby information is disseminated more broadly and quickly. This trend is accelerating the pace at which information is communicated, and its potential to reach new audiences with precise and tailored messages is impressive.

Like many organizations, UNAIDS is increasing its use of social media networks to get its messages out to new and existing audiences. UNAIDS has a presence on both Facebook and Twitter and engages with the sites’ users by posting regular updates and encouraging user comments and feedback. Content-sharing sites like Flickr and YouTube also enable UNAIDS to share its audiovisual content to people worldwide.

The aim of using social media networks is simple: to disseminate messages about HIV and encourage young people to take action to stop the spread of HIV.

Looking ahead

As new technologies continue to evolve, so will the way in which countries respond to HIV. By staying on top of emerging technology trends, countries will be able to use innovative tools to provide people, even in the most remote villages, with access to HIV prevention and treatment services.

A version of this story was written by Faryal Mirza, Universal Postal Union (UPU)

(Left to right) Mr Philip J. Jennings, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, Mr Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, Mr Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Mr Assane Diop, Executive Director of the Social Protection Sector at ILO during a press conference to launch the Global prevention awareness campaign at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on 7 July 2009.
Credit: UNAIDS/O. O'Hanlon

Halting the spread of HIV by 2015 is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To contribute towards this goal, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and UNAIDS together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNI Global have launched a global awareness campaign. Post offices in participating countries will display HIV prevention information which will reach the general public and postal employees.

“This awareness-raising campaign is part of the UPU’s ongoing effort to promote sustainable development and social responsibility among postal operators,” says UPU Director General Edouard Dayan.

Global reach

In many parts of the world, post offices already have a social role by promoting public health messages within their community. At the heart of the campaign is the Posts’ unrivalled physical network of 660,000 post offices. Alison Phillips-Pearce, the UNAIDS campaign coordinator, is excited by the “enormous outreach” of the joint initiative. Also, the network has a special characteristic. “The Post is a place that is open to everyone from the young to the old and does not discriminate,” Phillips-Pearce adds.

Claude Montellier, head of the sustainable development programme at the UPU, believes there is the potential for Post Offices to do much outreach given that they already provide universal access to information. He added that this led the UPU to consider ways the postal network could benefit the public at large.

“Promoting social responsibility takes place through the development of awareness programmes about diseases for postal staff and the public,” he said.

UNAIDS created the bold advocacy materials for this campaign, including posters, postcards and country fact sheets.

Consultative process

For UNAIDS’ part, Phillips-Pearce shed light on why the campaign materials had taken their chosen form. “The materials were the outcome of a consultative process with our partners.” The materials were tested on a global audience and across genders to find out if the message was clear. The end result was the slogan: “Your post office cares. Protect yourself.”

“An adaptable slogan was needed to ensure that the message was meaningful to the country it is displayed in,” Phillips-Pearce said. In Brazil, for example, a more direct message was required, so the slogan on campaign materials there will read: “Your post office cares. Protect yourself. Wear a condom.”

First phase: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Estonia, Mali and Nigeria

As a first phase the campaign will reach out to postal customers of seven countries— Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Estonia, Mali and Nigeria. These were chosen because of their HIV prevalence rates and to give a broad geographical spread. Estonia, for example, has Europe’s highest rate of HIV infection. During this initial phase, nearly 24,000 post offices will display and distribute the information materials and more UPU member countries will join later this year.

The campaign’s second phase in 2010 will focus on postal employees with help from the ILO and UNI Global Union. The ILO will prepare a toolkit for postal employers to use to inform their staff about HIV and UNI Global hopes to have the support of both the Posts and the workers’ unions for this phase.

Thirdly, in 2011, the UPU plans to invite its member countries to issue a stamp to commemorate the discovery of AIDS in 1981 when the first scientific article related to this disease was published.

“AIDS touch the lives of a very large part of our population”

Meanwhile, with the launch of the campaign the Cameroon Post is hoping that its 220 outlets will make an impact in the country where around five per cent of adults between 15 and 49 are living with HIV.

It is the first time that Mireille Ndancha Njilla, a postal operator, has participated in a health campaign, however she believes that there is a need to raise awareness of the virus in her community, as “HIV and AIDS touch the lives of a very large part of our population.”

The 2009 report of the Global Campaign of the Health MDGs: Leading by Example - Protecting the most vulnerable during the economic crisis.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Foreign Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre launched the 2009 report of the Global Campaign of the Health MDGs, Leading by Example - Protecting the most vulnerable during the economic crisis. The launch coincided with the High-Level Forum on Advancing Global Health in the Face of Crisis which was held on 15 June at United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The report highlights that recent actions from governments, international agencies and civil society have started to show positive impact on the health of mothers and children. This has given hope for accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 & 5 —aiming to reduce child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015. However, this progress is now threatened by the most severe global economic crisis since the 1930s, especially in low-income countries.

According to the report, more money is needed to accelerate the progress towards the health goals and more specifically to save millions of mothers and their newborn babies.

The Network of Global Leaders, which includes twelve leaders from developing and donor countries, contributed to the report and they urged leaders to take measure to protect the vulnerable, especially women and children, from the economic downturn. "The global economic crisis demonstrates how inter-dependent we have become as a global community. This is the time to honour our commitments and invest in our common future," say the leaders in their signed overview of the report.

The Global Campaign for the Health MDGs was launched by Prime Minister Stoltenberg with other global leaders in New York in September 2007. The aim of the campaign is to increase and sustain the political and financial commitment for the health MDGs, in particular those protecting the most vulnerable, women and children.

The Network of Global Leaders is a group of international leaders that provide political backing and advocacy at the highest possible level for the Global Campaign for the Health MDGs.

The comic book Luis Figo and the World Tuberculosis Cup seeks to teach children and teens about tuberculosis, its relationship with HIV, and how to prevent it.

International football icon and Stop TB Ambassador Luis Figo is the main character of an educational comic book that provides key information on tuberculosis (TB). Luis Figo and the World Tuberculosis Cup was produced by the Stop TB Partnership, an international health partnership whose secretariat is housed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, with support from UNAIDS.

The comic book features Figo as the captain of a team of teen-aged girls and boys. Together they win a football match against a squad of tuberculosis germs. The comic book seeks to teach children and teens about tuberculosis, its relationship with HIV, and how to prevent it.

In a statement released on the occasion of the launch Figo urged young people everywhere to take the comic book's messages seriously. "Tuberculosis is a killer, and I want all of you to stay safe from it. I am passing the ball to you -- you can help reach the goal of stopping tuberculosis," he said.

The book is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Khmer, Kiswaili, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish and is being distributed in several countries in collaboration with local partners. An estimated number of 70 000 comic books have been so far distributed through country-based events. The comic book is also available for download at www.stoptb.org/figo

An international competition for comic artists to design the educational book was launched in 2008. A jury of cartoon experts from worldwide organizations together with representatives from UN organizations selected the winning proposal which was presented in Lisbon on 24 July 2008.

HIV and TB are so closely connected that they are often referred to as co-epidemics or dual epidemics.

The comic book has now become an animated cartoon that will be launched in Geneva on 13 June during the All Stars '09, a charity match organized by the Luis Figo Foundation. The animated cartoon version of Luìs Figo and the World Tuberculosis Cup will be shown in its French-language version at the gala match. It will soon also be available in Arabic, English, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish and broadcast widely around the world.

The fundraising game will take place at the Stade de Genève and will also feature current and former soccer stars and trainers including Mourinho, Chistian Chivu, Ronaldinho, Clarence Seedorf, Fabio Capello, Giovanni Trapattoni and Giga Popescu.

Tuberculosis and HIV

TB is the leading causes of death among people living with HIV, and accounts for an estimated 23% of AIDS deaths worldwide. HIV and TB are so closely connected that they are often referred to as co-epidemics or dual epidemics. The epidemics drive and reinforce one another: HIV activates dormant TB in a person, who then becomes infectious and able to spread the TB bacillus to others.

Untreated, someone with active tuberculosis will infect an estimated 10 to 15 people per year. The Stop TB Strategy is the internationally recommended standard for preventing, diagnosing and treating TB and includes recommendations for managing TB in people living with HIV.

Recently a new TB strain, extensively drug resistant TB (XDR TB), has emerged, which is particularly dangerous for people living with HIV in whom it is frequently fatal. Preventing the development and spread of drug resistant TB through greater investment in TB services, improved community case finding and adherence support, and more effective infection control are essential.

UNAIDS, the Stop TB Partnership and the World Health Organization (WHO) are together encouraging a concerted, coordinated global effort to control TB in people living with HIV. In addition, the Stop TB Partnership has formed the TB/HIV Working Group, which develops global policy on the control of HIV-related TB and advises on how those fighting against TB and HIV can work together.

These partnerships have led to the creation of policies and guidelines to deal with HIV-related TB, and countries and organizations have taken important steps towards integrating their HIV and TB responses.

Watch the THINK WISE Public Service Announcements.
Featuring Sri Lankan Batsman Kumar Sangakkara, England international Isa Guha, international cricket stars and local South African children, South African captain Graeme Smith and Indian international Virender Sehwag.

Leading cricketing stars are launching THINK WISE, a new global AIDS awareness campaign designed to provide young people with information about how to protect themselves from HIV.

The players will champion the campaign during the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 2009, which begins in London on Friday 5 June. This leg of the campaign will aim to improve education and awareness about HIV and eliminate the stigma associated with the disease.

Around 10 million people living with HIV live in Test playing countries. This accounts for over a quarter of people across the world living with the virus.

Graeme Smith, captain of the South African cricket team and THINK WISE Champion said: “I have seen firsthand the impact that HIV has had in my country. I hope that cricket fans and youngsters around the world can respect the disease and also those living with HIV. By making informed decisions we can help reduce new infections and develop strong communities.”

Five new Public Service Announcements featuring messages from the Sri Lankan cricket captain, Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Smith, one of India’s leading batsmen, Virender Sehwag, and England women’s cricket star Isa Guha, will be shown during the tournament on big screens in stadia and aired by broadcasters across the globe. Players will also wear red ribbons to show their support during the semi-finals and finals of the tournament.

The THINK WISE initiative builds on a long-term partnership between the ICC, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNICEF and the Global Media AIDS Initiative, that for more than five years has reached out to the cricketing community to respond to the global AIDS epidemic.

The THINK WISE partnership seeks to educate cricket players, coaches, commentators, broadcasters, volunteers and spectators about the AIDS epidemic, particularly around prevention, and deliver these messages at major ICC events and through broadcast which reaches an audience in excess of 200 countries.

The THINK WISE partnership will expand later this year to include a new cricket for development initiative that will deliver HIV messages to young people. An announcement is expected to take place during the ICC Champions Trophy 2009, hosted by South Africa at the end of September.