World AIDS Day 2008

UNESCO is committed to reducing the impact of the HIV epidemic. As one of the founding members of UNAIDS and one of the ten Cosponsor organizations, its response to HIV and AIDS is one of its key priorities.

UNESCO’s contribution is interdisciplinary. Efforts to combat HIV and AIDS are driven by the scientific discovery, research and scientific knowledge of the virus. The Organization therefore has a vital role to play in the promotion and support related to the dissemination of scientific information on:

• the biology of infectious organisms generally, and specifically about HIV
• advances in basic research in the area of HIV and AIDS and its role in combating the pandemic.

Related links:
:: Message from UNESCO Director-General (.pdf)
:: UNESCO's activities to commemorate the World AIDS Day 2008 (More)
:: UNESCO's activities worldwide (More)
:: UNESCO Intersectoral Programme (More)
:: UNESCO Education and HIV and AIDS (More)
:: UNESCO Natural Sciences and HIV and AIDS (More)
:: UNESCO Culture in response to and HIV and AIDS (More)
:: UNESCO Communication and Information on HIV and AIDS (More)

UNESCO workshop for media on culture, gender and human rights at the International AIDS Conference

On 6 August UNESCO provided a skills building session on

“Professional media coverage: culture, gender and human rights in HIV and AIDS reporting”

at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City (Mexico).

The session aimed to strengthen the capacity of those accredited journalists covering the event, to produce accurate, culturally relevant, human rights-based and gender-sensitive HIV and AIDS media coverage which adequately reflects the voices of communities that are most affected. The skills building session was co-facilitated by UNESCO, INTERNEWS and the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS.

UNESCO and L’Oréal: Raising AIDS Awareness

Beauty transcends national borders, and a trip to the hairdresser is a ritual in almost every country in the world. When UNESCO was looking for a private sector partner to help educate a mostly female global audience about HIV and AIDS, it turned to L’Oréal Professional Products. In 2005, through the initiative of Lady Owen-Jones, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS Prevention Education, the two organizations created Hairdressers Against AIDS, aimed at raising awareness of HIV by sensitizing hairdressers about HIV and encouraging them to talk about personal risk with their customers.

Knowing that hair salons are excellent locations for information sharing and exchange, UNESCO saw a golden opportunity in partnering with L’Oréal–an opportunity to ensure that the company’s network of 190 training centres and 1.2 million professionals are reached with reliable information on HIV and AIDS. Hairdressers in L’Oreal’s 400 000 partner salons around the world take courses at the training centres in more than 50 countries. The UNESCO training module–integrated into L’Oréal’s professional training system–provides simple, factual and accurate information on HIV. Hairdressers who graduate from the training programme UNESCO designed with L'Oréal relay their knowledge to clients in salons in every corner of the world.

Read more about this initiative in

Partnerships with the Private Sector: A Collection of Case Studies from UNAIDS