Reds launch World AIDS Day campaign
Liverpool Football Club have kicked off a week-long campaign to raise awareness for World AIDS Day 2013 and Living with HIV, Standard Chartered's global HIV and AIDS education programme.
Around 35 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV, including 100,000 in the United Kingdom.
To highlight this global issue, the club has released footage of its star players supporting the cause by creating a World AIDS Day ribbon on one of the goals at Melwood.
The campaign will come to life through a number of activities over the next seven days, including a projection of a red ribbon on the stadium and players warming up in special t-shirts prior to the Reds' clash against Norwich.
Standard Chartered Bank will also be using all of their matchday rights at Liverpool's home games against Norwich on December 4 and West Ham on December 7 to direct people to the specially produced eBooklet, which is the one-stop resource for information on Living with HIV.
To see the eBooklet now, click here.
"Liverpool FC continues to be a great supporter in raising awareness of this global issue," said Annemarie Durbin, group executive sponsor for Living with HIV.
"We are proud to be working with the club to raise awareness by directing people to the 'You, Me, & HIV' eBooklet. This dispels common myths and misconceptions about HIV by sharing transmission and prevention stories from around the world.
"HIV can affect anyone, which is why we want everyone to have access to this education tool."
Liverpool's managing director, Ian Ayre, added: "Every day, another 6,000 people worldwide are infected with HIV. Standard Chartered's Living with HIV programme draws attention to an important cause, and one which the club is proud to support.
"This week we hope to reach as many people as possible with the message of learning more about HIV and AIDS."
Last year, to support World AIDS Day, a 49-metre long ribbon was rolled out across the pitch by staff from Standard Chartered and the HIV/AIDS charity AVERT.
This was the first time that the AIDS awareness ribbon, recognised as the largest in the world by Guinness World Records, had been displayed in the UK.
Standard Chartered's Living with HIV programme was launched in Africa in 1999 and was expanded across the bank's global network four years later.
Living with HIV focuses on prevention through education in the belief that knowing the facts, understanding the risks and adopting safer behaviours can help people avoid infection and prevent those who are infected passing on the illness.
Educational resources and tools are shared with Standard Chartered's staff and local communities through a range of partnerships across the public, private and NGO sectors.
For further information please visit www.standardchartered.com. Follow Standard Chartered at www.facebook.com/standardchartered and on Twitter @StanChart.
