For Journalists 

‘Show them!’
A new HIV prevention campaign for young people is launched in Russia

Date: 19 July 2005
Time: 12:00
Place: Internet Hall, Central House of Journalists, 8A Nikitskii Bulvar, Moscow

The new television advertisement starts with the words ‘So that’s it! We’ve got clones.’ It is the sixth Russian-wide information campaign for young people on prevention of HIV/AIDS. What a clone is, and how one might tackle them will become clear at the official launch of the ‘Show them!’ campaign, which will take place on 19 July 2005 at the Central House of Journalists in Moscow.

For the first time an information campaign on HIV/AIDS prevention and the promotion of safer sexual behaviour will take place not only in Moscow, but also in ten regions of Russia under the GLOBUS project (Global Efforts against AIDS in Russia, 2004–2009).

The principal aim of the campaign is to improve young people’s knowledge about HIV-infection and to explain methods of protecting oneself against it. The most reliable method is to use a condom: it protects against unwanted pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

A new media campaign ‘Show them!’, like the five preceding campaigns, has been designed on the basis of research. On this occasion the research was conducted by those in charge of the campaigns in the ten regions participating in GLOBUS (February-March 2005): Buryatiya, Krasnoyarsk Region, Orenburg Region, Pskov Region, St. Petersburg, Tartarstan, Tomsk Region, Tver Region and Vologda Region.

This research has shed light on several important trends: firstly, at present young people between the ages of 15 and 25, and especially girls between the ages of 15 and 18, are at an ever increasing risk of being infected with HIV through sexual contact. They know less than other groups about how HIV is transmitted and how one can protect oneself. Secondly, people are entering into sexual relations at a younger age. Young people continue to feel awkward buying condoms and discussing safe sex with their parents and friends. What’s more, a high level of fatalism has been noted amongst young people – a significant number of those surveyed said, ‘If I’m fated to get HIV, then a condom won’t help me.’ This is largely due to an absence of reliable information about HIV/AIDS. All the information materials for ‘Show them!’ were designed with these trends in mind.

The campaign was prepared by the FOCUS-MEDIA Public Health and Social Development Foundation, with consultative support from AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW). FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation and AFEW have joined a consortium of non-governmental organisations implementing the GLOBUS project with the financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Over the last seven years, FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation and AFEW have successfully carried out HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns which have reached more than 80 million people. The campaigns conducted have helped to raise public awareness of HIV/AIDS. Those who have seen the campaigns have a more accurate knowledge of the routes of HIV transmission, and are more able to evaluate their risk of infection or having to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. As a result, they use a condom more often.

Contact person: Yulia Molodtsova,
Public Relations Manager
Tel.: (495) 221-6026, 221-6027, 221-6028
yulia_molodtsova@focus-media.ru