Condom is your elastic armor!

On May, 17 2009, at the International Candlelight Memorial Day Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation has launched new wave of media campaign. It aims to remind about safe and simple protective mean against HIV/AIDS - condom.

It is 16^th social PSA produced by the ANTIAIDS Foundation that appeared on the air of national TV channels since the foundation was established in 2003. According to the expert estimations, total media budget of the foundation' campaigns in media exceeded 50 million USD (in real market prices).

Target audience of the PSA "Your elastic armor" is young women. There is the forth product of the ANTIAIDS Foundation targeting young girls. Most of the new HIV cases in Ukraine are registered among young people between 14-25 years. Women are more vulnerable for the virus due to the fact that women three times more responsive to the virus compare to men. Total number of women with HIV has overcome 44%, whereas at the begging of the epidemic this figure didn't exceed 25%. This trend is true at the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS epidemic: each day 6 000 women in the world are getting HIV, because their men are not using condoms.   

PSA that promotes safe sex was launched on national TV when ANTIAIDS Foundation has successfully finalized negotiations with biggest condoms distributors. As the result of these negotiations distributors introduced new line of condoms priced for the middle class and lower. This segment is filled for three fourth. And the biggest Ukrainian supplier "Medkom Ukraine" in the joint statement with ANTIAIDS Foundation announced decrease in price for their main brands - Contex and Durex - for 25% starting from May, 2009. 

Idea for the spot came up during the social project AIDS Army Fashion - in October, 2008 where Ukrainian designers joined to demonstrate social collection dedicated to the fight against AIDS. Each of 32 designers who took part at the project of the ANTIAIDS Foundation and Ukrainian Fashion Weeks had created one military-style item. This collection was sold out during the charitable auction that set a record in Ukraine by raising total sum of 580,000 USD. These funds were directed to buy and equip five mobile clinics to help HIV-positive children who live in the most affected by HIV/AIDS epidemic regions of Ukraine.       

At the end of this PSA airing, ANTIAIDS Foundation plans to evaluate its effectiveness. All researches of the Foundation' campaign in media can be downloaded at /en/monitoring

Quotation from the statement of international experts' released at the XV International AIDS conference: "... advertisement and promotion of condoms should be aimed at the overcoming of social and personal barriers in using them. Effective advertisement campaign promoted using condoms should target not only general population but most at risk groups of people. Special attention should be paid to women and young people..."

For detailed information, please, contact Pavel Piminov, Communications Director, Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation on e-mail: P.Piminov@antiaids.org.

Contact phone number: +38 (044) 490 4805. Fax: +38 (044) 490 4885.

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