Calling Aspiring Journalists

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 25 Mar 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Leading HIV charity, International HIV/AIDS Alliance is teaming up with The Guardian newspaper and seven other development agencies (NGOs) to launch a unique journalism competition.

The Guardian International Development Journalism Competition is launched with the financial support of the Department for International Development (DFID). Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary, says he is looking forward to this competition motivating a new generation of journalists that want to write about some of the most important global issues facing the developing world today.

"They will play a key role in helping to raise awareness and understanding among the UK public of the complexity of development issues, explaining how people are connected with people living on the other side of the globe," said the Secretary of State, "and, crucially, encouraging us all to play a part in reducing global poverty. I encourage journalists and aspiring journalists to come forward and take part in this exciting competition."

"International HIV/AIDS Alliance is proud to support this innovative competition together with DFID and The Guardian," said Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. "HIV is one of the critical issues of our time. There are countries around the world where we are seeing success but there's still a long way to go."

Every day over 6,800 people are infected with HIV and 5,700 die from AIDS - most because of inadequate access to HIV prevention and treatment.

"People are doing incredible and creative work to meet the challenge of HIV and AIDS. There are many inspiring stories to tell. By entering this competition and writing about HIV you will increase awareness of these important issues. We need you to tell people what is happening and what more needs to be done to effectively reduce the spread of HIV in the developing world, " said Alvaro Bermejo.

For more details of the competition, visit www.guardian.co.uk/developmentcompetition or www.aidsalliance.org.
The deadline for entries is 6th May 2008.

The project partners include: The Guardian, Department for International Development, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Marie Stopes International, Camfed International, HelpAge International, Malaria Consortium, Plan UK, Sightsavers International and WaterAid.

The International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is a global partnership of nationally based organisations working to support communities to reduce the spread of HIV and meet the challenge of AIDS. The Alliance provides support to organisations from more than 40 developing countries for over 3,000 projects, reaching some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities with HIV prevention, care, support and improves access to treatment.

www.aidsalliance.org