Paper doll campaign
During the UN High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York the UAFC Joint Programme organized an advocacy event. which featured a display of hundreds of paper dolls with hand written messages from women and men around the world. Volunteers from SMART Youth, a development and leadership program for youth of ages 13 to 22 living with or affected by HIV/AIDS carried vertical banners displaying the dolls as a backdrop to the speakers, which included UAFC coordinator Lucie Van Mens, Dr. Flavia Cuerneia of Mozambique who represented Mrs. Maria da Luz Dai Guebuza (First Lady of Mozambique), Member of Parliament of the Netherlands Kathleen Ferrier, Mexican AIDs activist Eugenia Lopez Uribe and New York AIDs activist Levon Ford.
Female condoms are an important asset in the battle against AIDS. The demand is high, availability still way too low.
Mrs Ferrier gave a speech and wrote a statement on Zawadi, one of many paper dolls: "Female Condoms and programming available for every woman in the world!!"
From all over the world deze paper dolls came to New York, with statemenst of men and women, asking for more female condoms. Zawadi will now fly to the Netherlands, where she and many other dolls from all over the world will be present at the UAFC Conference on Female Condoms in November 2011.
The Paper Doll Campaign is already being implemented by 40 non-governmental organizations in 19 countries in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. More partners are joining weekly.
This Campaign illustrates the global demand for female condoms. This launch event highlighted its urgency to those at the UN meeting. Right now, less than 1% of all condoms distributed globally are female condoms. This effective tool is unavailable or unaffordable to millions of people worldwide who need it for protection against HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy. Each doll speaks for one person (and many others) who wants this reality to change.
Here is a list of joining organizations.
Follow Zawadi and the paper doll campaign on Twitter and her Facebook page
