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Formula One team Sauber Petronas and UN join forces against HIV/AIDS
12 September 2002. Republished courtesy of UNAIDS. (www.unaids.org).
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In the first partnership of its kind, Formula One team Sauber Petronas has joined two United Nations institutions to bring HIV/AIDS awareness messages to a broader public and mobilize resources for HIV/AIDS projects in countries worst affected by the disease.
Team Sauber Petronas, with its drivers Nick Heidfeld (Germany) and Felipe Massa (Brazil), has given the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) space to brand its race cars with the slogan "STOP AIDS" and the red ribbon symbolizing HIV/AIDS. This programme will run in the three upcoming Grand Prix races on three continents - Monza, Italy (15 September), Indianapolis, USA (29 September) and Suzuka, Japan (13 October).
This initiative will support fundraising for two projects that provide housing and care to AIDS orphans in Botswana where close to 70,000 children under 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Botswana has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Africa with 39% of adults aged 15-49 infected with the virus. Life expectancy has fallen from 60 to 44 years due to AIDS.
"We are proud to do our part to fight an epidemic that has become one of the main obstacles to health and development in many countries," said Sauber Petronas team principal Peter Sauber. "It is clear that all sectors of society, including car racing, can help halt the spread of HIV/AIDS."
"This partnership is another example of positive cooperation between the world of sports and the United Nations," said Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. "The high profile of Formula One racing is exactly the type of platform that the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS requires," he added.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic now affects some 40 million people worldwide, of whom more than 28 million live in sub-Saharan Africa. As of last year, there were 14 million HIV/AIDS orphans around the world, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
"The epidemic is getting worse, but there is a ray of hope," said Noerine Kaleeba, a senior adviser at UNAIDS. "Prevention works. By raising awareness through initiatives such as this one, we hope an increasing number of people will learn to protect themselves from HIV infection, and will increasingly care for and support those infected and affected."
At the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS last year, governments unanimously adopted a Declaration of Commitment in which they pledged to reduce HIV prevalence in young people aged 15-24 by 25% globally by 2010. Efforts to reverse the AIDS epidemic are further reflected in one of the UN Millennium Development Goals, which is to halt and reverse the global spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Achieving these goals requires everything from individual change in behaviour to extensive international cooperation.
On average, live TV broadcasts of Formula One reach 350 million spectators per race. In 2001 alone, the Formula One races and related news coverage were watched by a cumulative total of 54 billion viewers, making it one of the most-watched sports in the world.
"This is an outstanding opportunity to mobilize individuals and alert them to the fact that HIV/AIDS is threatening any global progress we have made in the fight against poverty," said Satya Oblet, male top model and UNDP's appointed spokesperson on HIV/AIDS. "Already, the hardest-hit countries are facing vast social and economic setbacks. Unless the spread of HIV/AIDS is reversed, we will be unable to break the vicious cycle of poverty and vulnerability to the disease."
The two HIV/AIDS orphan projects in Botswana are being managed by local communities and funded by UNDP.
The House of Hope project provides home-based care for the terminally ill as well as education, training and elfare services for HIV/AIDS orphans. It is based in Palapye district, where 40% of pregnant women are HIV-positive. The centre also promotes change and helps people involved in risky behaviour find new ways of earning a living.
The Maun Orphan Care programme in Ngamiland district was created as a community response to the increasing number of orphans. The centre provides food, clothing and counselling services to orphans.
Donations to the projects may be made at www.stop-aids.com.
As the main advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS leads, strengthens and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing the transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic.
UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It is also one of the eight Cosponsoring agencies of UNAIDS. |
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