WORLD'S BIGGEST HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATION SENDS LARGEST-EVER DELEGATION TO INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE
5 July 2002

More than 100 leaders and volunteers from up to 50 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies will be participating at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona between 7-12 July. It is the largest ever Red Cross and Red Crescent participation at an HIV/AIDS event and an indication of the ever-growing response to the pandemic from within the biggest humanitarian organization in the world.

Among the Red Cross and Red Crescent delegations will be 12 HIV positive volunteers from across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, who will openly share with conference participants their experiences and the challenges they face in their respective countries. It is also the first time that HIV positive representatives from the Red Cross and Red Crescent will be openly participating at an International AIDS conference.

Their presence is evidence of the impact of the disease on the network of nearly 100 million Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers across the world. An estimated 150,000 of our own volunteers are living with HIV/AIDS, many of whom are now leading or are involved in peer education, home care and anti-stigma campaigns in their communities.

"The size of the Red Cross and Red Crescent representation, mainly secretaries-generals and presidents of National Societies, is not only evidence of the increased response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, but also addresses the call around the leadership and volunteer vacuum made at the United Nations Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June 2001," says Alvaro Bermejo, head of the health department at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Africa, the worst affected continent with more than 28 million people with HIV/AIDS, is best represented with 14 Red Cross Red Crescent Societies participating. A commitment made at a Pan-African Red Cross Red Crescent conference in Ouagadougou in 2000 to prioritise the response to HIV/AIDS is seeing results. In January 2001, only Zimbabwe Red Cross had a national HIV/AIDS country plan. By December 2001, 30 African Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies had country plans and trained more than 200,000 volunteers in HIV/AIDS programme. By 2010, 2 million volunteers will be trained. Their work has been supported by the International Federation which has budgeted 19 million Swiss francs for African HIV/AIDS programmes for 2002.

Journalists please note that interviews are available not only in English/French/Spanish and Arabic, but also in various Asian, European and African languages. Leaders and volunteers from Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies attending the conference, will also be available for interviews on the HIV/AIDS situation in their own countries as well as offering personal histories.

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

In Barcelona Eva Calvo, Press Officer - tel: +41 79 217 3372
Jemini Pandya, Press Officer- tel: +41 79 217 3374
In Geneva Denis McClean, Head of Media Service - tel: +41 22 730 4428 / 41 79 217 3357
Marie-Francoise Borel, Press Officer - tel:+ 41 22 730 4326 / 41 79 217 3345

The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.