In the finale to the Cyprus 2017 cricket spring season, in May, the Cyprus Cricket Association, in partnership with Cricket without Boundaries and UNAIDS, held a series of events to raise awareness about HIV in Cyprus.

Two hundred schoolchildren from six schools took part in a festival of cricket, at which they played in knock-out competitions and learned about AIDS. Lee Booth, from Cricket without Boundaries, a British nongovernment organization that uses cricket to deliver health and social messages, engaged the children and raised awareness about how they can protect themselves against HIV.

Budding coaches and young people from the local cricket academy also learned about HIV in special events as part of the campaign, which drew upon the World AIDS Day theme, “Hands up for #HIVprevention”.

The final day of events was targeted at adult cricketers, as members of the two finalist teams of the Cyprus Cricket Association #MoneyGram Spring T20 competition learned about HIV prevention and how to stand together against HIV-related discrimination.

In all the events, information on HIV prevention and testing supplied by UNAIDS was made available.

Cricket has a longstanding role in the response to HIV, with THINK WISE, a partnership between the International Cricket Council, UNAIDS and the United Nations Children’s Fund, using the spirit of cricket to support global efforts to end the AIDS epidemic at the Cricket World Cup and beyond.

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