Haiti wins international award for HIV/AIDS work

CMC – An organisation in Haiti is among 10 community-based organisations worldwide honoured for their innovative and outstanding community work in the response to the AIDS epidemic.



The Red Ribbon Award, which was first presented in 2006, is handed out every two years.



SEROvie of Haiti, which focused on the health and rights of sexual minorities and became a vital source of aid, support and advocacy for sexual minorities following the January 2010 earthquake in the French speaking Caribbean Community countries, joined community-based groups from Egypt, Iran, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Russian Federation and Uganda in receiving the award this year.



UNAIDS said over 1, 400 nominations from more than 120 countries had been received for the award which is sponsored by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in partnership with other UN organisations, AIDS 2012, the Global Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS, and the Global Network of Women living with HIV/AIDS.



“The winners of the Red Ribbon Award 2012 have accomplished so much with so little. They work at the grassroots levl in very challenging situations to ensure that vulnerable groups and people living with HIV get the information, services and opportunities they need,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe.





“Communities are where the response to AIDS started and it is their energy, innovation and leadership that have set us on the course to end AIDS,” he added.



SEROvie conducts HIV prevention, health referrals and psychological and social support, as well as home based care visits, vocational training and a micro-credit programme for people diagnosed with the virus.