Help fight AIDS in Africa

On the 1st of December VAP - along with a select few Kenya based charities - will team up with the World Health Organisation to host an football themed HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis event. The event will coincide with World AIDS day.

The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the TB/HIV co-epidemic through football and through the image of Stop TB Ambassador Luis Figo who's very keen on empowering children and adolescents through sports.

Background -

Luìs Figo became a Stop TB Ambassador in 2008. Mr Figo, a decorated professional Portuguese footballer, was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year and was named among the FIFA 100 greatest players of all time. Luis Figo's worldwide appeal and popularity will make a major contribution in the fight against tuberculosis.

Football is one of the most compelling and widely followed - and played - sports in the world. Mr Figo is keen to use his skills and popularity to raise global awareness and counter the stigma of tuberculosis to help reduce the many needless deaths that result from this preventable and treatable disease.

Figo's Educational Comic Book on Tuberculosis -

The Stop TB Partnership has produced an educational comic book delivering key information on tuberculosis. The comic book features Mr. Figo as the main character and targets children and young adults. The aim is for them to learn more on tuberculosis. Key messages embedded in the story focus on prevention and treatment of the disease, on the determinants of tuberculosis - malnutrition, living conditions - and on tuberculosis and HIV co-infection. Tuberculosis is a leading killer of people living with HIV.

Event Plan (Proposed Scenario) -

The main objective of the event is to offer children and adolescents an opportunity to increase their knowledge about tuberculosis and HIV through football. The proposal is to have a workshop on tuberculosis and HIV, followed by a tournament and street match.

Workshop:

It should be organized one-two weeks in advance of major event. At the beginning of the workshop, students will fill out a questionnaire to assess their knowledge about tuberculosis and HIV (only if students belong to same age-group). They will then participate in a class activity on the subject - this could include reading the comic book and/or watching the cartoon with presentation and discussion on key TB/HIV messages tailored to the age group involved. As activity, students will be asked to create a drawing with slogan to be used for increasing knowledge of tuberculosis and HIV. A post-test to test acquired information on TB/HIV should follow the event (only if students belong to same age-group)

Tournament - Street Match

Boys and girls will be divided into several mixed teams and will play in a short tournament. The two finalist teams will play on 1 December. Football star Luis Figo will play with both teams - one time each (tentative). The winning team will be awarded a Stop Tuberculosis Cup signed by Luis Figo. The Stop Tuberculosis Cup will be awarded by:

1.   Stop TB Ambassador, Luis Figo (tentative)
2.   UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis and former President of the Portuguese Republic, Dr Jorge Sampaio (confirmed)
3.   UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Sports, Development, and Peace, Mr Wilfried Lemke

Attachments:

• WORLD_HEALTH_ORGANIZATION.doc (DOC)