Some 70 students marched the streets of Marneuli, 40 km south of Tbilisi, Georgia, as part of a campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS organized by World Vision on 1 December, World AIDS Day. In Georgia, experts claim the number of new infection cases of HIV increased by 350 percent from 2000-2006 due to lack of awareness and public neglect of the disease.

Students held different posters warning people about the danger of AIDS, with slogans such as “No to Drugs”, “Healthy Life” and “Tolerance”, while World Vision staff distributed informational brochures.

“I think that this kind of a campaign is very important, especially in rural areas where people are not well informed about this disease. We hold this kind of infection awareness campaign every year,” said Mamuka Chelidze, Preventive Health and HIV projects regional coordinator in Kvemo Kartli, World Vision.


“We explained the meaning of World AIDS Day when we gave out the informational booklets to people who attended the demonstration. I was a great opportunity for me to express understanding and tolerance towards people with HIV and AIDS,” said Misha Khazarashvili, “SAFE! Guard Your Health” project peer educator, World Vision.

World Vision is the first organization to begin informational campaigns in rural areas of Georgia. Through the “SAFE! Guard Your Health” project, World Vision aims to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections through community information meetings, peer education activities for youth, and additional trainings for community health personnel and mass media representatives.

There are 1,406 living with HIV and AIDS officially registered in Georgia in 2007, according to The Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Centre.


AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, and with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005, of which more than 570,000 were children.

The concept of World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.