WAD Awareness VIDEO

Name of the activity: WAD Awareness VIDEO

Country/NMO: Cyprus (CyMSA)

Program: HIV/AIDS & Other STIs

Contact information: [email protected]

Type of the activity: Campaign. Combination of education and advocacy. Campaigns create awareness in society about a certain topic (education aspect) and try to funnel this awareness into pressure on the decision makers to adapt policies accordingly (advocacy aspect).

General description:

During the video medical students/members of CyMSA mention many different facts about HIV infection and AIDS in Greek with English subtitles below. The facts include and are not limited to epidemiological data of prevalence and incidence of HIV among adults and children, clarification of the terms HIV & AIDS, the access in antiretroviral therapy, the benefits of HAART regarding increasing the lifespan of people living with HIV and decreasing/eliminating the spread of HIV (undetectable = untransmittable), the importance of HIV testing. At the same time the participants are holding papers with numbers or keywords regarding the facts they are talking about to catch the viewer’s attention.

Focus area:

Prevention of all STIs or are specific STIs

Problem statement:

Our activity emphasizes on awareness regarding many aspects of HIV and AIDS. It’s needed because a big part of general population are not aware of the fact that HIV still is a public health challenge. Our video provides solid facts according to the burden of the infection nowadays, the results since the start of the epidemic, and the importance HIV testing and of access to ART for people who live with HIV.

References:

Target groups:

General population, Medical students, Healthcare Students, Other Students, Doctors, Other health professionals, Youth

Beneficiaries:

General population, Medical students, Healthcare Students, Other Students, Doctors, Other health professionals, Youth

Objectives and indicators of success:

– make healthcare students and health professionals realise that HIV is still a public health challenge and advocate for it

– encourage general population (especially young people) to get tested for HIV

– encourage people who live with HIV to search for professional help and access to ART

– encourage people to demand post-exposure prophylaxis if there is the risk that that they have been exposed to HIV infection

– prompt the governments to take measures for HIV prevention

Methodology:

In the first place, by spreading the WAD awareness video to medical students/IFMSA members we will encourage them to take action and advocate for HIV & AIDS. I also believe that by showing them a creative way (our video) to advocate they will inspire them to find new methods to tackle issues regarding Sexual and Reproductive health. Moreover by spreading the video on social media it will be reachable to the general public worldwide and therefore make them aware of the situation. The language that has been used during the video (both the Greek orally and the English subtitles) is in simple form to make sure everyone, including non-healthcare providers can understand the facts.

Plans for evaluation:

I understand that monitoring and online campaign is quite challenging. A good indicator of how many people the video has reached is the views that have been recorded.