Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 11 November 2002
Over the next three months, a tram painted with anti-stigma messages will ring its bell on behalf of people living with AIDS as it runs through the streets of the city. The tram will carry very public messages in a bid to raise awareness that discrimination can kill and contribute to the spread of the virus.
The International Federation was represented at the launch of the tram by Harold Masterson, head of the organisation and staffing unit.
"For my part, I am one of those persons living with HIV/AIDS, but I am very fortunate to work for an organisation which accepts such persons, to have a family whose support I can count on, and to live in a fine international city which offers the possibility of advanced care and treatment. Sadly, that is not the case for everyone," he said.
Masterson told the gathering that in very many cases, shame and discrimination kill. "We are happy today to associate the protective emblems of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent with people living with HIV/AIDS."
He said that the tram was a good example of what partnerships can accomplish in raising public awareness on HIV/AIDS. The Geneva AIDS Group, the Geneva branch of the Swiss Red Cross and the advertising company, Saatchi and Saatchi, had made this particular event possible. But Masterson also mentioned the important collaboration taking place at the global level between the Federation's 178 member national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.
The Geneva AIDS Group Director, Florian H bner, said it was supporting the Federation's campaign against discrimination and encouraging people to talk to all those around them about HIV/AIDS and to pass on the truth about AIDS.
Talking about AIDS is also part of the struggle against the stigmatisation of people living with HIV/AIDS, according to the organisation.
Also on hand as the tram took off on its inaugural trip across the city, were Liliane Maury-Paquier, president of the Swiss lower house of parliament, Pierre-Fran ois Unger, Geneva's cantonal health minister, and Bernard Gardiner, HIV/AIDS programme co-ordinator for the International Federation.
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