AIDS-FREE HOLIDAYS CAMPAIGN: A NEW LOOK 20th EDITION!
The 2022 "Vacances Sans Sida" campaign to raise awareness among young people by young people will run from 10 to 31 August. For this anniversary edition, a number of innovations are planned, the aim being to make an effective contribution to reducing the rate of HIV infection among young people aged 15 to 24, the core target of the campaign.
Under the theme "Drugs kill and expose us to HIV/AIDS", the 2022 edition of Vacances Sans Sida aims to raise awareness of the dangers of drug use, particularly the risk of HIV infection. According to the Comité National de Lutte contre la Drogue, 21% of young Cameroonians of school age admit to having taken drugs at least once. The consequences of this practice are often dangerous, such as exposure to unprotected sex.
ACTIVITIES
A number of activities are planned as part of this year's event. Firstly, a full-scale official launch will be held on 10 August, co-chaired by the Minister for Public Health and his counterpart for Youth and Civic Education. Secondly, HIV awareness and counselling campaigns will be organised simultaneously in all 10 regions of the country, using peer educators recruited and trained specially for the occasion. Young people who test positive can immediately be put on treatment free of charge, thanks to the measure exempting them from the cost of HIV treatment in Cameroon, which has been in force since 1 January 2020.
Finally, a general evaluation of the campaign will be led by the GTC/CNLS.
INNOVATIONS
As innovations, this edition is marked by the creation of the visual identity of Vacances Sans Sida through a dedicated logo. A number of digital activities will also be organised, including awareness-raising on the Facebook and Twitter social networks using digital tools (visuals, videos, etc.), and above all a competition for the best awareness-raising video, which will be organised on the TikTok social network.
Vacances Sans Sida was launched in 2003 by the First Lady of Cameroon, Chantal Biya. The event is run by Synergies Africaines contre le Sida et ses souffrances and the CNLS. For this year's campaign, in addition to the usual partners such as WHO, ACMS and others, new organisations have joined in, including Orange and the Port Autonome de Douala. All of which augurs well for the success of this event and the achievement of its objectives.
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