Protect_the_Goal

The 3rd Annual United Nations Camp Sweden took place at the Bosön sports facility from 6-17 September, 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden. The UNOSDP camp in collaboration with Cruyff Institute Sweden and The Power of Sport Foundation brought together 23 youth (aged 18-25) from around the world (Primarily Sub-Sahara Africa, Palestine and the Indian Sub-Continent) who work or volunteer on projects using sport for development and peace initiatives. The students learnt the best practices on how to harness the power of sport from leading practitioners such as Youth Sport Trust, Liverpool Football Club Foundation, UN Women, Women Win, International Paralympics Committee, UNAIDS and many more.

Ivorian football player Gervinho, a UNAIDS Ambassador for the Protect the Goal campaign, took the opportunity during a private stay in Gabon to learn about the AIDS epidemic in the country.

UNAIDS Officer in Charge Rodrigue Nze Eyo’o briefed Gervinho on the national epidemic, challenges and successes and the work and role of UNAIDS in the country. Awareness, prevention and testing campaigns are key to reaching youth and the most vulnerable populations. Gervinho’s generous contributions and engagement play a crucial role in reaching a large audience with important HIV prevention messages.

During his fact-finding mission, Gervinho also showed his ball skills on the pitch during an HIV awareness-raising football game organized by the nongovernmental organization Rainbow with the support of the UNAIDS Country Office in Gabon. At the game, Gervinho had the opportunity to speak to young vulnerable people, orphans, out-of-school children and young people living with HIV about the challenges they face in their daily lives.

The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and UNAIDS signed a partnership agreement to work together in the AIDS response, particularly in the response among young athletes.

The agreement was signed in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the XIX General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees by ANOCA President Lassana Palenfo and Djibril Diallo, on behalf of UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.

UNAIDS and ANOCA agreed to carry out joint advocacy and communication activities in sporting events organized by ANOCA in support of the UNAIDS Protect the Goal campaign. They will also work together to raise HIV awareness, particularly among sportspeople, to promote HIV prevention and towards the elimination of all forms of stigma and discrimination of people affected by HIV.

President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff joined on 10 June the UNAIDS’ Protect the Goal campaign to raise global awareness of HIV.

During a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, President Rousseff added her signature to the campaign ball in support of the initiative that aims to encourage young people to commit to HIV prevention and to emphasize the need to ensure universal access for all eligible for HIV treatment by 2015.

The campaign was officially launched in Brazil on the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup at a special event in the city of Salvador, Bahia on 9 June, with the presence of the Governor of Bahia, the Mayor of Salvador and the Brazilian Health Minister, among others.

Before reaching Brazil, the Protect the Goal ball started a tour from South Africa—the host of the World Cup 2010—through countries that are joining the World Cup competition. Heads of State of Algeria, Argentina, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Honduras, Nigeria, and Uruguay also signed the ball. The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, also signed the Protect the Goal football as have many heads of United Nations agencies and the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

UNAIDS ‘Protect the Goal’ campaign is a global social movement, mobilizing the power of sport to empower young people to access HIV services

UNAIDS Protect the Goal campaign has been launched in Brazil on the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The campaign kick-off was announced at a special event on 9 June at the emblematic Castro Alves Theatre in Salvador, Brazil. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe was joined by global and local partners, including the Government of the State Bahia, the Salvador City Hall, the Brazilian Health Ministry, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Protect the Goal spokespersons, Ndaba and Kweku Mandela.

As part of the Protect the Goal campaign during the World Cup in Brazil, 2 million condoms and Protect the Goal leaflets are being distributed across the 12 World Cup host cities and free rapid HIV tests will be offered at local Fan Fests. Other cities such as Aracajú, Porto Seguro, Ribeirão Preto, Santos and many more are joining the campaign and schools in the state of Bahia are participating with contests and HIV training programmes.

Protect the Goal was first launched at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. To symbolize the strong links between Latin America and Africa, the ‘Protect the Goal World tour’ was launched during the friendly match between South Africa and Brazil in March 2014. The tour saw the passing of the ‘Protect the Goal’ football through the countries participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In recent weeks, the Protect the Goal ball was signed by the Heads of State of Algeria, Argentina, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Honduras, and Nigeria, and Uruguay. The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has signed the Protect the Goal football as have many heads of UN agencies and the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Protect the Goal campaign aims to raise global awareness of HIV, encourage young people to commit to HIV prevention; and to emphasize the need to ensure universal access for all eligible for HIV treatment by 2015, the deadline for the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Five countries across Asia have embraced the Protect the Goal campaign. An innovative partnership between UNAIDS, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is promoting a multicountry football-based HIV prevention programme in the region.

Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand have all committed to carrying out activities with the aim of helping to address HIV transmission among young people.

Myanmar kicked off its campaign in April with a football match at the national stadium featuring national stars Kyaw Ko Ko and Than Than Htwe from the Myanmar men’s and women’s national teams. Supported by the Myanmar National League and the Myanmar Football Federation, the match was played in front of thousands of fans. Through additional activities focusing on young people in schools, football clubs and other venues, the campaign will promote the importance of voluntary HIV testing and the elimination of stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV.

The UNAIDS–AFC–ADB initiative will be implemented by the Myanmar National League and Football United, a flagship programme of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Cambodia has also initiated activities within the campaign. In March 2014, stars of the Phnom Penh Crown Football Club came out to support the Protect the Goal campaign and entertain fans in an event supported by the SALT Academy, the Football Federation of Cambodia and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines are all set to roll out key activities in the near future, with Malaysia officially launching its campaign on 16 May.

The UNAIDS–AFC–ADB initiative is part of the Protect the Goal campaign efforts to roll out activities and messages on HIV prevention in the lead up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where there will be an event profiling the global campaign in Salvador, Bahia, on 9 June 2014.

Ivoirian football player Gervais Yao Kouassi, better known as Gervinho, has teamed up with UNAIDS to promote the Protect the Goal campaign and to support the UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

Gervinho, who signed the Protect the Goal campaign pledge on 8 May in Rome, committed to supporting UNAIDS’ efforts for a generation free of HIV by spreading the message on the importance of HIV prevention, particularly among young people.

Harnessing the power of sport and culture, the Protect the Goal campaign has three specific objectives: to raise awareness of HIV, to encourage young people to commit to HIV prevention and to emphasize the need to ensure that the 15 million people eligible for life-saving antiretroviral treatment can access it by 2015.

Globally, an estimated 5.4 million adolescents and young people are living with HIV, and 1.8 million are eligible for HIV treatment. Millions of young people living with HIV do not know their HIV-positive status, and, every day, approximately 2 100 adolescents and young people become newly infected, which accounts for 36% of all new HIV infections globally.

GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG, 5 March 2014—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), in cooperation with the Tobeka Madiba Zuma Foundation (TMZF) and the South African Football Association Development Agency (SDA),  have announced the kick-off of the Protect the Goal world tour. Protect the Goal, which was first launched at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, is a campaign to raise awareness around HIV prevention and encourage young people to get actively involved in both the national and global response to HIV.

“I'm honored to join forces with SDA and UNAIDS in the AIDS response," said Madame Tobeka Madiba Zuma, whose foundation is a co-sponsor of the Protect the Goal campaign. "I want to help reach as many young people around Africa as I can. While we need to begin with HIV awareness, we also need to deliver HIV testing and treatment to many young people who need our help."

The official world tour kick-off event was held at the Soccer City Stadium, the largest stadium in Africa, during the South Africa-Brazil international friendly game. The world tour will continue its journey through the five African countries—Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria—whose national teams have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The event also provided an opportunity to announce Kweku Mandela and Ndaba Mandela as global spokespersons for Protect the Goal. The objectives of the campaign are to use the popularity and convening power of sport to unite the world for the goal of an AIDS-free generation. The campaign also raises awareness and support for UNAIDS’ vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“We are proud to be working with our South African partners in a rapidly evolving environment for mobilizing the global football community against AIDS,” said Dr. Djibril Diallo, Senior Adviser to the Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The campaign has garnered support from around the world. UNAIDS has signed cooperation agreements with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), South American Football Association (CONMEBOL), and Asia Football Confederation (AFC).

In Africa, UNAIDS and partners, including youth leaders, have disseminated HIV prevention messages on large electronic screens to football fans in stadiums and fan zones during games, including the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Africa’s most prestigious football tournament.

In Asia, UNAIDS, in cooperation with the Asian Football Confederation and the Asian Development Bank, are engaged in a partnership to enhance awareness of HIV, improve access to HIV prevention and treatment, and work to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination in five pilot countries, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.

CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, has also promoted the campaign in the framework of major sporting events. During the Gold Cup soccer tournament the captains of the national football teams of the United States and Panama pledged to raise awareness of HIV in the football community.

Globally, an estimated 5.4 million adolescents and young people are living with HIV, and 1.8 million are eligible for HIV treatment. Millions of young people living with HIV do not know they living with the virus, and every day, approximately 2100 adolescents and young people become newly infected, which accounts for 36% of all new HIV infections globally.

As part of the Protect the Goal Campaign, UNAIDS, TMZF, SDA and Grassroot Soccer, a South African-based, non-profit organization that uses football to educate young people about HIV, will stage a promotional event at the Alexandra Football for Hope Centre on 6 March. The centre provides young people with a safe space to learn about HIV prevention. As part of the event branded footballs of the Protect the Goal campaign will be distributed to underprivileged communities. 

Global sports stars joined diplomats and international officials at the United Nations in New York to highlight how sport can empower youth and advance global health and development.

The Jack Brewer Foundation, in partnership with UNAIDS, brought together athletes from the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Olympics and more than 20 players from the National Football League (NFL) who joined the summit on the eve of the LXVIII Super Bowl final.

Led by Jack Brewer, founder of the Jack Brewer Foundation and Sidney Rice, a wide receiver with the Seattle Seahawks, NFL stars and agents described how they are ‘giving back to their communities’ by using the power of football to engage young people—in the United States and in developing countries such as Haiti and Malawi—on health promotion and development.

The spokespersons for the UNAIDS Protect the goal campaign, Ndaba and Kweku Mandela, called for engaging youth around the world to reach an AIDS-free generation and continue the legacy of their grandfather, Nelson Mandela, in the AIDS response. The Protect the goal campaign aims to raise awareness of HIV and mobilize young people to commit to HIV prevention in conjunction with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.