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Putting a Stamp on AIDS
By UNAIDS
June 6, 2011
World
Nearly
3 million individual stamps will circulate within and across borders
this year to draw attention to 30 years of the AIDS epidemic and the
importance of continuing to prevent new HIV infections. Since the
start of the epidemic, 60 million people have become infected with
HIV and nearly 30 million people have died of AIDS-related causes.
At
least 20 Posts around the world have joined an initiative to issue
stamps and other philatelic products to commemorate the landmark
year. Participating Posts include: Belarus, Brazil, Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Croatia Post (Mostar), Fiji, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan,
Luxembourg, New Caledonia, Malawi, Moldova, Pakistan, Slovakia,
Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uruguay. The United Nations
Postal Administration (UNPA) is also issuing three stamps that will
be sold in UN Offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna. For more
information, visit the display at the UNPA counter in the General
Assembly building in New York.
“Stamps
– these formidable mini works of art – are noble ambassadors
that leave important messages in the hands of all who receive
mail,” said Edouard Dayan, director general of the United Nations
specialized agency for postal services. “The Universal Postal
Union is proud that so many Posts have responded to our call to
raise awareness of critical issues like HIV. Once again, this
initiative goes to show the incredible outreach value of postal
services worldwide.”
Many
stamps are being issued in June to coincide with the 2011 High Level
Meeting on AIDS, taking place at the United Nations in New York from
8-10 June. The meeting will provide a platform for UN member states
and partners to review progress and chart the future course of the
global AIDS response.
“This
is an excellent and important initiative to get people around the
world talking about AIDS,” said Michel Sidibé, executive director
of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). ”One
of the greatest barriers in the AIDS response is the stigma and
discrimination surrounding the disease. By initiating dialogue
around HIV, these little stamps will play a big role in helping to
break down some of those barriers.”
While
most Posts have designed their own stamps, others, like Ukrposhta,
Ukraine’s national postal service, have launched a national
competition inviting artists to propose a stamp design on the theme
of 30 years of AIDS. Ukraine’s winning stamp will be issued on
World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011.
Global
campaign
The
philatelic initiative is part of the global HIV-campaign launched in
2009 by the Universal Postal Union, UNAIDS, the International Labour
Organization and UNI Global. The campaign relies on the global
postal network’s vast outreach to draw attention to the importance
of HIV prevention.
More
than 23,000 post offices around the world have carried out awareness
campaigns using posters, postcards, a website
(www.unaids.org/preventHIV) and public events to inform people about
HIV. The campaigns have potentially reached millions of people. In
Cameroon alone, the Post estimates that campaign materials are
viewed daily by 36,000 people.
This
is the first time that Posts worldwide have made a concerted effort
to draw attention to AIDS, but philately has been raising awareness
about the disease for years. A quick survey of the UPU’s World
Numbering System (www.wnsstamps.ch) reveals that more than 60
different AIDS themed stamps have been issued since 2002, when the
database was created.
To
view a slideshow of AIDS stamps through the years, please go to: www.upu.int/en/aids_stamps
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