Hairdressers Against AIDS

Hairdressers Against AIDS.
Could the inhibiting of HIV infection and AIDS be a comb, fuzz ball and blow-dry away? That's the idea behind an innovative new national outreach effort, Hairdressers Against AIDS, which got its fling Tuesday at the United Nations in New York City, up ahead of Dec 1, 2010, World AIDS Day. The initiative - described as "one of the largest HIV/AIDS mobilization campaigns in US history" - has tresses mind giant L'Oreal joining forces with nonprofits such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GBC). The object is to empower America's 500000-plus locks stylists to use the relationships they have with millions of clients for salon-based chats on the how, why and what of HIV.

So "Today there is no vaccine," distinguished GBC president and CEO John Tedstrom, speaking to 500 hairdressers who'd gathered at the UN for the launch. "There is no cure. We're getting there. But today there is only information. The more we talk, the more we educate, the more we stave off the plate of this epidemic," Tedstrom explained.

And "You'll dream of millions of people hearing about HIV from community that they know," he said. "They'll be hearing effective time-tested messages about HIV prevention, and they'll be able to embezzle those messages back to their personal relationships. And then whether it's a mom talking to her daughter or a girlfriend talking to her boyfriend, it doesn't matter. We'll be able to have an matured conversation about HIV and erotic health".

Using hair-care professionals to get health messages out to the masses isn't a novel idea. Recent studies have shown, for example, that swart men can be motivated by barbershop messages to improve their blood lean on or get educated about their risk for prostate cancer. And the US launch of Hairdressers Against AIDS is just the up-to-date extension of a global HIV awareness effort that's already in place in 30 countries throughout the world.