New campaign to end mum-to-baby HIV

2014-12-09 21:33
Lagos- A leading beverage maker and global
health group have invited Nigerians to join
efforts to help end mother-to-child
transmission of HIV.
"Share the sound of an AIDS free generation”,
the global campaign, is the brainchild of the
Coca-Cola Company and (RED).
The campaign shares a message of hope and
unity to empower today’s youth to understand
that they can be the generation to end the
AIDS pandemic.
Award winning hip-hop artiste, Wyclef Jean,
recorded a song titled “Divine Sorrow” for the
(RED) campaign together with various Coke
Studio Africa artistes, including Chidinma from
Nigeria.
Coca-Cola and (RED) have partnered with
MTN Nigeria, the largest mobile
telecommunications operator in Nigeria to
make the song available for subscription.
Also read: No Nigerian child should be born
with HIV - Jonathan
Proceeds from the song, now available for
download as ringtone on the MTN network,
will go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, and also to finance
grants which provide HIV prevention, testing,
counseling, treatment and care.
“We want to use the instrument of music and
its strong connection with the youth to
reinforce the message that it is in the hands of
this generation to stop the spread of HIV/
AIDS,” said Patricia Jemibewon, Marketing
Director at Coca-Cola Nigeria.
The initiative comes days after
commemorations of World AIDS Day with the
theme “Getting to Zero” and a focus on
achieving zero infection, zero discrimination
and zero AIDS-related deaths.
According to Joint United Nations Programme
on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), 650 babies are
born with HIV every day, yet life-saving
medication exists and costs as little as $.40 a
day.
That same medication can reduce the risk of
an HIV-positive woman passing-on the virus
to her baby by up to 95 percent.