LSF Grantee Uses Cartoons to Bring HIV/AIDS Prevention to Life in Argentina and Uruguay
“AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV.”
“There are effective measures to avoid contagion.”
“Infected persons should not be discriminated against.”
Although these messages seem relatively clear and simple, they are difficult to effectively communicate to children. Fundación Huesped, the leading institution in the field of HIV/AIDS in Argentina, addressed this obstacle by creating Preventoons, a cartoon designed to educate children about how to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Under a grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation (LSF), Fundación Huesped was able to create this first-ever animated cartoon about HIV/AIDS directed at children between the ages of 8-10. The Preventoons video is accompanied by a second video for teachers, providing instructions on how to use the cartoon as an educational tool.
Because stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS has been found to impede the development of testing, disclosure, prevention, treatment, care and support programs on a global level, LSF has made stigma and discrimination one of its primary focus areas. In addition to introducing children to the concept of the AIDS virus and how to prevent its transmission, the cartoon clearly explains that someone infected with the virus can still be their friend.
The cartoon was launched in 2004 in 3,000 schools in Argentina and was declared of cultural interest by the nation’s Secretary of Culture. The Argentine youth celebrities who donated their time and voices as the characters in the cartoon brought significant media coverage to the launch, bringing Preventoons and the issue of HIV/AIDS into the spotlight in Argentina.
Preventoons was so popular that the Argentine Ministry of Education produced an interactive CD for teachers devoted completely to HIV prevention, with Preventoons characters playing the central role in the material. The new CD was launched in a public presentation on June 29th, 2005 by the Minister of Education with the announcement that between 20,000 and 40,000 copies of the CD will be distributed to schools throughout Argentina this year.
The LSF grant also covered Preventoons’ introduction in Uruguay, where on World Aids Day 2004, the President of the Uruguayan Department of Education announced that 100 schools across the country would begin working with these videos in 2005, and that the program would be incorporated into the curriculum of all the country’s elementary schools. The “Children and Family of Elementary Schools” program trained 800 teachers for this work, who would in turn train an additional 900 teachers in their own schools.
Theresa Gonzalez, president of the Uruguayan school board said, “these videos provide an opportunity to work in two ways. The first is to work with teachers to confront the fears and difficulties that often emerge when working with sex education. Secondly, it is an animated video that is designed for children so that, in a lively way they can relate to, they can begin to see and become aware of the problem.”
Fundación Huesped has received over $200,000 in grants from LSF and LS&CO since 1997. They have used this money to develop some of the most innovative and creative programs in prevention and education in the region. Their work has attracted the attention and support of the Argentine population and the local government, bringing further resources to bear in the battle against HIV/AIDS.
In 2006, under a new grant from LSF, Fundación Huesped will produce a second video aimed at early teens, with a specific focus on reducing the stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS.