Bangkok--18 Aug--UNISBKK
Community groups from Ukraine, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zambia and Zimbabwe honoured for model local AIDS initiatives
Five local communities from around the world were honoured here tonight with the newly created Red Ribbon Awards for their outstanding contributions to the frontline response to HIV and AIDS.
UNAIDS Special Representative HRH the Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway presented the award for best practice in overcoming women’s inequality to Zimbabwe’s Girl Child Network, which counsels and supports girls in rural areas, including victims of sexual abuse.
The Girl Child Network was joined on the honours list by a Ukrainian lobbying group that works with public institutions to combat discrimination, secure treatment and organize support for people living with HIV/AIDS; a Thai organization that successfully campaigned to bring anti-retroviral treatment into the country’s public-health system; a youth-led network of communities in Zambia that sews school uniforms for AIDS orphans; and a Bangladeshi project to educate, protect and advocate for sex workers and their families.
The 2006 Red Ribbon Award winners, by category, are:
1. Providing access to care, treatment and support for people living with HIV/AIDS: Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Thailand
2. Addressing stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS: The All Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Ukraine
3. Addressing gender inequalities that fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic: The Girl Child Network, Zimbabwe
4. Promoting HIV/AIDS prevention programmes: Durjoy Nari Shongo, Bangladesh
5. Providing support to children orphaned by AIDS and other vulnerable children: Mboole Rural Development, Zambia
Nearly 600 communities around the world were nominated for the Award. Through a rigorous review process, a committee of 50 international HIV and AIDS experts identified the top 25 candidates, who were invited to attend
the AIDS 2006 conference.
An international jury that included the Norwegian Crown Princess, Oscar nominee Naomi Watts, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and pioneering doctor Paul Farmer whittled the 25 finalists down to five, one in each award category.
“The Red Ribbon Award is a great opportunity to bring communities together that have fought this disease,” said Kemal Dervis, United Nations Development Programme Administrator. “Sometimes they work in extremely difficult situations, in contexts of war or extreme poverty, and yet they have found ways despite these obstacles to make things happen, to generate some real success on the ground.”
Each of the five winners receives US$20,000 in prize money, while the other 20 finalist communities are each awarded US$5,000. The checks will be presented to the finalists on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2006.
The Red Ribbon Award, making its debut this week in Toronto, will henceforth be presented every two years at the International AIDS Conference. It provides a unique opportunity to support and publicize the most outstanding and least recognized experts in the global effort to stop the epidemic.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is leading the Red Ribbon Award, working in partnership with UNAIDS, the Community and Leadership Program Committees of the XVI International AIDS Conference and the
governments of Canada, Norway, Austria, Finland and Ireland. Other partners include Care International and UNESCO.
More details of the real-life stories of these communities and the challenges they face in responding to the HIV epidemic are available at: www.redribbonaward.org .
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Ms. Niamh Collier-Smith, UNDP New York: + 1 212 906 6111 [email protected] , or in Toronto: + 1 917 213 0671. Broadcast-quality footage of the communities at work in Argentina, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Ukraine will be available. For broadcast-related inquiries, please contact Boaz Paldi, UNDP New York: e-mail: boaz.
[email protected] , +1 917 213 7520.
About UNDP: UNDP is the UN's global network to help people meet their development needs and build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working as a trusted partner with Governments, civil society and the private sector to help them build their own solutions to global and national development challenges. Further information can be found at
www.undp.org
About UNAIDS: UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN system organizations to the global AIDS response. Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP,
UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Based in Geneva, the UNAIDS secretariat works on the ground in more than 75 countries world wide. www.unaids.org
About the XVI International AIDS Conference: AIDS 2006 is the world’s largest HIV/AIDS conference provides an international, open and independent forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and research which will inform HIV/AIDS programmes and strengthen prevention, treatment and care efforts worldwide. The theme of AIDS 2006 is ‘Time to Deliver’, reflecting the demands of the epidemic for increased accountability from all stakeholders to fulfill commitments made. www.aids2006.com