AMBASSADOR COMMISSIONS HIV/AIDS WALL IN HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 007068 SIPDIS LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS PASS USTR FOR ROSA WHITAKER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO PREL SOCI ZI SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR COMMISSIONS HIV/AIDS WALL IN HARARE FUNDED BY THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 HARARE 07068 270942Z ¶1. ON DECEMBER 13, THE U.S. MISSION HELPED CELEBRATE THE ROLLING OUT OF A NEW HIV/AIDS INITIATIVE IN ZIMBABWE. THE "AIDS WALL: HEALING THE COMMUNITY" IS A Z-SHAPED WALL COVERED WITH CERAMIC TILES PAINTED BY LOCAL ARTISTS FROM RUWA, ZIMBABWE. THE AIDS WALL STANDS IN THE OUTDOOR SCULPTURE GARDEN OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN DOWNTOWN HARARE. THE TILES DEPICT IN FRANK, POIGNANT BUT ALSO HUMOROUS WAYS THE IMPACT THAT AIDS IS HAVING ON BOTH URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES IN ZIMBABWE. APPEARING ON ONE SIDE OF THE WALL ARE THE NAMES OF THE ARTISTS, CDC ZIMBABWE AND THAT OF AMBASSADOR TOM MCDONALD AS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO THEIR COLLECTIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS IN ZIMBABWE. THE PROJECT WAS CONCEIVED BY JOYCE KOHL, A FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, IMPLEMENTED BY ROS BYRNE POTTERY FACTORY AND THEIR ARTISTS, AND FUNDED BY THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) AS PART OF CDC'S EFFORTS TO COUNTERACT THE RELATIVE INVISIBILITY OF THIS OVERWHELMING BUT SILENT EPIDEMIC, TO PROMOTE MOBILIZATION OF COMMUNITIES TO ADDRESS THE EPIDEMIC. ¶2. THE UNVEILING ALSO PROVIDED CDC AND ZIMBABWEAN OFFICIALS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE DEPARTING AMERICAN AMBASSADOR, TOM MCDONALD, FOR HIS UNTIRING COMMITMENT TO THE ERADICATION OF AND ADVOCACY ON HIV/AIDS. UNVEILING THE WALL, AMBASSADOR MCDONALD REITERATED THE UNITED STATES' COMMITMENT TO ASSIST THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE IN THEIR BATTLE AGAINST HIV/AIDS, DESPITE POLITICAL PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. DR. DAVID PARIRENYATWA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD WELFARE, APPLAUDED THE U.S. EMBASSY, THE ARTISTS, THE FULBRIGHT UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 HARARE 07068 270942Z SCHOLARS PROGRAM, AND THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ZIMBABWE FOR THIS INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION. THE DEPUTY MINISTER STATED THAT HE HOPED AND BELIEVED THAT THIS WALL WOULD BECOME PART OF A PROCESS OF BREAKING THE SILENCE AROUND HIV/AIDS IN ZIMBABWE, THE FIRST STEP TO FINDING SOLUTIONS TO STOP THE EPIDEMIC. ¶3. IN ZIMBABWE, CDC WORKS PRINCIPALLY TO STRENGTHEN BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS IN PREVENTION AND CARE FOR HIV/AIDS, BUT ALSO WORKS TO STIMULATE EDUCATION, AWARENESS, AND SOCIAL MOBILIZATION THROUGH TARGETED COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS THE AIDS WALL. MCDONALD UNCLASSIFIED >