HIV-positive kiss campaign for World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day: campaign against prejudice

21/10/2014

„Would you kiss someone with HIV? Sure, if he's my type“. This is on one of the posters that are distributed on the occasion of a new campaign. The World AIDS Day campaign aims to help reduce prejudice and discrimination against HIV-positive people. The posters are complemented by a new website and increased presence in the social media.

Respect and normality
For the World AIDS Day 2014, a new campaign was started in Germany, which addresses the unfounded fears of HIV infection in everyday life. To overcome these fears and thus promote respect and normality in dealing with HIV-positive people, catchy information should help, which makes it clear that HIV is not crucial in everyday intercourse. We can all be carefree „live together positively“. The campaign is being implemented by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) and the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) in cooperation with the German AIDS Aid (DAH) and the German AIDS Foundation (DAS).

Prevent exclusion
„Over the past 30 years, we have made important progress together in the prevention and treatment of HIV. We must continue on this path. It also means that we take the existing fears and insecurities in the population seriously and continue to inform about the disease and how to deal with HIV. This knowledge about how to deal with HIV is a crucial prerequisite for preventing the exclusion of people living with HIV“, Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) announced the launch of the World AIDS Day campaign on December 1 in a press release.

Address people via posters
Overall, the campaign includes five poster motifs with a question-answer combination for HIV infection. One of them is: „Would you kiss someone with HIV? Sure, if he's my type“. The poster campaign is complemented by a new website and increased presence in social media. The population should be directly addressed and confronted with topics such as how people would react if they have a positive colleague, live together in an apartment with an infected person or fall in love with an HIV-positive person.

Fear often cause of discrimination
Around 80,000 people in Germany live with HIV. Medical advances have made it possible that today they have nearly the same life expectancy and quality of life as healthy people. Not only can HIV-positive people work in almost any profession and spend their free time as they wish, but they can also experience partnership and sexuality and have children who are not infected with HIV. „A full life with HIV is possible - but not with discrimination“, write the organizers. Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Pott, Director of the BZgA added: „Unreasonable fear of HIV infection in situations that are not contagious is often the cause of discrimination.“

Do not relax with education
Although important advances have been made in the treatment and prevention of HIV in recent years, further education is needed to prevent the disease from segregating, said Minister Gröhe. How important it is not to let the education of the population rest, also shows news about increasing numbers of infections. For example, more HIV and syphilis have recently been reported in Saxony-Anhalt. Posters, leaflets and postcards about the campaign can be ordered free of charge on the homepage of the BZgA. (Ad)

Picture: Paulwip