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   Produced by IPS with support from PAHO and UNAIDS |
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"I Have AIDS - and I am Happy" The Economic Impacts of HIV/AIDS NGOs the Driving Force Behind Public Policy on AIDS Link Yourself to Life
with the 'Red Ribbon' Project |
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MEXICO CITY - Pharmacies, beauty salons and barbershops in Mexico have served since 1998 as information centres about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. The initiative is part of "Lazo Rojo" (Red Ribbon), a programme developed by Mexico's national Secretariat of Health, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Under this strategy, the hairdresser and pharmacy employees receive periodic training and support material to help raise their customers' awareness about HIV/AIDS. The shops' clients learn about the disease and have access to a detailed list of centres specialising in information, testing, support and treatment for people with HIV/AIDS. The organisers behind Red Ribbon, with its slogan "Link Yourself to Life", consider the programme to be one of the most effect ways to improve awareness about the pandemic, particularly among young people, who are the population most affected by the pandemic. According to official figures, more than 80 percent of the Mexicans with HIV/AIDS are between ages 15 and 44. To make sure the message reaches the target audience, the programme includes television ads, eye-catching billboards and brochures, and inserts included in the local print media. Through the initiative, more than 240,000 posters and 580,000 fliers have been distributed, as well as 10,000 distinctive red ribbons, the universal symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS. In
an effort to achieve the greatest possible impact among young people,
the programme organisers invited Olympic medallist Joel Sánchez
and soap opera star Fabiola Campomanes to their team. The two serve
as volunteer spokespersons in spreading the messages about HIV/AIDS
transmission and prevention.
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