Born HIV Free facts and figures
The campaign Born HIV Free kicked off three month ago and 14 million people have already visited the website.
Over 14 million people have backed Born HIV Free. This campaign kicked off in Paris on 19 May last is aiming to raise public awareness of mother-to-child HIV transmission and it is doing so in a variety of ways: with educational videos and artistic creations on dedicated Internet channels (www.youtube.com/BornHIVFree), hosting on a sign-up electronic wall (www.bornhivfree.org), and circulating information on Twitter (www.twitter.com/bornhivfree) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/BornHIVFree). Over 14 million people have clicked in to the campaign’s dedicated YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/BornHIVFree). Broadcasting Paul McCartney’s exclusive concert on the Born HIV Free campaign channel was one of the ways of providing exclusive content to spread the message.
You can also support this cause by getting an event Tee-shirt online (http://bornhivfreean.spreadshirt.net/). Tiffany & Co., a jeweller, has created a Born HIV Free pin depicting the double-ribbon symbol and Jean Paul Gaultier, the fashion designer, has created a striped sailor T-short that Elle Magazine distributed on 6 August, and then on the Internet in Europe via ELLE ans Orange plateforms. Google, JC Decaux, MSN, Orange and YouTube have also contributed.
“As one of the people who started the Born HIV Free campaign, I am hoping that millions of people will support the Global Fond so we can put an end to mother-to-child HIV transmission, which is a terrible injustice – and is something we can eradicate,” said Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s ambassador for the protection of women and children.
Practically no children are born with HIV in Europe, North America and other industrialised areas today. In other areas – in Africa, in particular –, however, 430,000 children are born with it every year. That is more than 1,000 children a day. One of the Millennium Goals involves eradicating mother-to-child AIDS transmission by 2015. Michel Kazatchkine, the Global Fund’s Executive Director, adds, “We are asking people to sign this petition or to support this campaign by sharing the videos or writing about it on their websites and blogs, because we want to show political leaders who have tough budget decisions to make that public opinion still wants them to invest in global healthcare.”
