Russia Using Show-Biz Stars in Anti-AIDS Campaign

Russian health officials say youths are taking more responsible attitudes toward HIV/AIDS after the broadcast of three film clips produced by the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The clips feature John and English soccer star David Beckham and have been aired on TV since summer 2003. The message is to use condoms and practice other safe-sex techniques. The clips' success led Russian pop group Chai Vdvoem to join the campaign.

The campaign, "Life Is Wonderful, When Protected," was first launched as a pilot project by the Russian nongovernmental organization Focus-Media and the international AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW). The ads rolled out on public transport and billboards, posters and leaflets. A survey by Focus-Media and AFEW showed that Russian women are more interested in safe-sex information than men, and that 74 percent were familiar with the campaign.

"Russia is passing through an AIDS epidemic, and our aim is to stop the spread of the deadly disease among the youth," said AFEW Senior Program Advisor Tanja Grechukina. She believes the campaign will help people understand the Russian federation has one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics, with the World Health Organization estimating close to 1 million HIV/AIDS patients in the nation.

The majority of HIV patients are under 30, and the number of cases of sexual transmission is growing fast. "Preventive programs, and especially information campaigns, can be seen as vaccine against the disease," Grechukina said.

Focus-Media Information Coordinator Oksana Barkalova said the percentage of people using condoms rose from 20 percent in 1997 to 45 percent in 2005, but there is much work to be done. A study among young Muscovites showed a significant proportion think condoms are necessary only when their partner is known to be infected, and many felt able to judge which people were safe.

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