The campaign is initially being launched in some 16,000 post offices in seven countries including Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Estonia, Mali and Nigeria. The campaign will be expanded globally over the next three years to cover 600,000 post offices worldwide. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe says with more than 7,400 new HIV infections occurring every day it was critical that prevention efforts are stepped up. Mr Sidibe said the postal network has wide outreach, is open to everyone from the young to the old and offers an innovative way to raise awareness about how to prevent HIV infection.
"The message of the campaign is very very simple; Your Post Office Cares, Protect Yourself. We rely on the post office to deliver our letters worldwide, now we are counting on you, counting on the post office to deliver our message about HIV prevention."
Universal Postal Union Director General Edouard Dayan described the postal network as a natural partner for the HIV-prevention awareness campaign. He said the partnership was the single largest health-awareness initiative launched globally by the postal sector, demonstrating the huge outreach and value of the universal services it provides. He added that the campaign was a step forward in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015. Patrick Maigua UN Radio Geneva.
(duration: 1'35")