DURBAN, 19 July 2016—Ten exceptional community-based organizations have won the 2016 Red Ribbon Award for their inspiring work towards ending or reducing the impact of the AIDS epidemic. They were presented with the prize in a special session at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) in Durban, South Africa.
“Across regions and cultures, communities are showing the world that ending AIDS is possible. Their courage, innovation and leadership is helping us overcome barriers and better respond to the needs of those most affected by the epidemic.” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe.
The 2016 winning organizations are from Burundi, Mexico, Belize, Kenya, Nigeria, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Nepal, Chile, and New Zealand. Almost 1,000 nominations were received from more than 120 countries, for the Award, which is hosted by UNAIDS in partnership with AIDS 2016, the Global Network of People Living with HIV, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations and Irish Aid. A global panel of civil society representatives selected the finalists from a shortlist determined by regional panels.
Each of the winning organizations will receive a US$ 10,000 grant and have been invited to participate in AIDS 2016, where they organize the Community Dialogue Space in the Global Village.
At the Red Ribbon Award special session, the winners were congratulated by Her Royal Highness, Princess Mabel van Oranje of the Netherlands; Her Royal Highness, Princess Tessy of Luxembourg; Minister of Health and Child Welfare of Zimbabwe, David Parirenyatwa; Former President of Fiji H.E. Epeli Nailatikau, and Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS.
“Community-based organizations are taking the lead in shaping the course of the AIDS response. The organizations here today - recipients of the 2016 Red Ribbon Award - are examples to us all of what it truly means to fast track the AIDS response, and to do so in a way which is inclusive, and that advances human rights and gender equality”, Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS
The Red Ribbon Award was first presented in 2006 and since then has been awarded every two years at the International AIDS Conference. This year there were five award categories.
Category one: Good Health & Wellbeing (SDG 3)
Réseau National des Jeunes vivants avec le VIH/SIDA
Colectivo Seres, A.C.
C-Net+
Category two: Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10)
Kenya Sex Worker’s Alliance
Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA)
Category three: Gender Equality (SDG 5)
Tehran Positive Club
Chitwan Sakriya Women’s Foundation
Category four: Just, Peaceful, & Inclusive Societies (SDG 16)
YouthRISE
Red Nacional de Pueblos Originarios en Respuesta al SIDA
Category five: Global Partnerships (SDG 17)
INA Foundation
About the Sponsors
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
UN partners
The UN partners involved in the Red Ribbon Award initiative bring together the efforts and resources of all UNAIDS Cosponsors and the UNAIDS Secretariat.
AIDS 2016
The XXI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is a chance for stakeholders to take stock of where the epidemic is, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward. AIDS 2016 will be held in Durban, South Africa from 18 to 22 July 2016. (www.aids2016.org). The International AIDS Society is the convener and custodian of the conference.
Global Network of People Living with HIV
GNP+ is the global network for and by people living with HIV. GNP+ advocates to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. Driven by the needs of people living with HIV worldwide, GNP+ supports people living with HIV through their organizations and networks. GNP+ works to ensure equitable access to health and social services, by focusing on social justice, rights and more meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in programme and policy development – the GIPA principle. (www.gnpplus.net)
International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS
ICW Global emerged to look for answers facing the desperate lack of support, information and services available for women living with HIV. The organization promotes the leadership and involvement of women living with HIV in spaces where policies and programmes are developed and implemented and where the decisions that affect the life of thousands of people who live with the virus are made. The vision is for a just world where women living with HIV are leaders in HIV programmes and policy and realize their universal rights. They dream of a world where women, young women, girls, adolescents living with HIV have full access to care and treatment and enjoy all of their rights: sexual, reproductive, legal, economic and health, regardless of culture, age, religion, sexuality, race or socio-economic status. (www.icwglobal.org)
International Council of AIDS Service Organizations
Founded in 1991, the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations’ (ICASO) mission is to mobilize and support diverse community organizations to build an effective global response to end AIDS. This is done within a vision of a world where people living with and affected by HIV can enjoy life free from stigma, discrimination, and persecution, and have access to prevention, treatment and care. The ICASO network operates globally, regionally and locally, and reaches over 100 countries internationally. (www.icaso.org)
Irish Aid
Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland's programme of assistance to developing countries. Its aid philosophy is rooted in Ireland's foreign policy, in particular its objectives of peace and justice. The international development policy "One World, One Future" reflects Ireland's longstanding commitment to human rights and fairness in international relations and is inseparable from Irish foreign policy as a whole. The Irish Aid programme has as its absolute priority the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries, with a strong geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Improving access to quality essential social services such as health, education, services related to HIV and AIDS, and social protection is seen as key to the realisation of human rights, the reduction of poverty, hunger and inequality and the promotion of inclusive economic growth. (http://www.irishaid.gov.ie)
About the Red Ribbon Award
The red ribbon is a global symbol in the movement to address AIDS. The Red Ribbon Award, presented every two years at the International AIDS Conference, is designed to honor and celebrate community based organizations for their outstanding initiatives that show leadership in reducing the spread and impact of AIDS. The award is a joint effort of the UNAIDS family and as such, this year it will place particular emphasis on the organization's newly approved global priority areas of action.
The Red Ribbon Award was first given in 2006 and has recognized 85 organizations from over 50 different countries since then as leading community-based responses to AIDS. Such organizations lie at the heart of the response to the AIDS epidemic – displaying extraordinary courage, resilience and strength in addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time. Using creative and sustainable ways to promote prevention of sexual transmission, and prevention among people who use drugs, provide treatment, care, and support to people living with HIV and demonstrating innovation in the face of stigma and discrimination through advocacy and human rights, and stopping new HIV infections in children and keeping mothers alive, and taking care of women’s health, these examples of community leadership are showing us in practical terms how to reverse a global epidemic – one community at a time.
