What is UNAIDS Role in Social Marketing?

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is the leading advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS leads, strengthens and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing the transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic.

Population Services International (PSI) is the leading social marketing organization in the world, with projects in more than 50 countries on five continents. A nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., it develops and implements programmes worldwide to encourage healthful behaviour and increase the availability of health products at prices low-income people can afford.

Since 1996, UNAIDS and PSI have collaborated to develop, implement and promote social marketing as a key strategy in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

As a cosponsored programme, UNAIDS plays a unique and important role in garnering support for social marketing programmes. At the national level, UNAIDS encourages governments to support HIV/AIDS prevention social marketing initiatives within their countries. This may include advocating for the inclusion of social marketing in national plans, the allocation of resources to social marketing programmes from multilateral and bilateral donors, and the facilitation of a positive legislative environment for social marketing. Social marketing is complimentary to, and does not replace, free distribution of condoms.

In countries where social marketing programmes are being launched, UNAIDS takes an active role as fundraiser. Finally, through its network of programme advisers, Theme Groups and Cosponsors UNAIDS offers an excellent means of disseminating best practices and lessons learned in social marketing.

Since 1996, UNAIDS and Population Services International (PSI) have collaborated to develop, implement and promote social marketing as a key strategy in the prevention of HIV and AIDS.

UNAIDS stimulates social marketing in the field

· Myanmar, The Russian Federation and Liberia
· Female Condom
· Application of social marketing to other HIV/AIDS-related products and services

UNAIDS promotes expanded interest in social marketing

· UNAIDS website
· Social marketing assessments in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey
· Regional Marketing Training Exchange with projects in Albania and Romania

UNAIDS provides key resources

Best practice materials and case studies, including

· "Social Marketing: An Effective Tool in the Global Response to HIV/AIDS"
· UNAIDS website
· A directory of social marketing projects (Currently under development)
· "Extending Choice: Challenges in Condom Social Marketing" (conference planned for 2000)

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Key social marketing resource materials

· "Social marketing: an effective tool in the global response to HIV/AIDS", UNAIDS Best Practice Collection, November 1998.

· The Female Condom: an information pack, WHO/UNAIDS, April 1997.

· The Male Latex Condom, January 1999.

For more information about social marketing, HIV/AIDS and the programmes described in this document, please contact: the UNAIDS Information Centre.

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20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Tel: (41) 22 791 4651
Fax: (41) 22 791 4187
E-mail: unaids@unaids.org
Website: http://www.unaids.org

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1120 19th Street, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036, USA
Tel: 1-202-785-0072
Fax: 1-202-785-0120
E-mail: generalinfo@psiwash.org
Website: http://www.psi.org

2000