The M.A.C AIDS Fund
Monday 13 December 2010
British women targeted by AIDS charities as figures show they are more likely to be infected by the disease than men
The M.A.C AIDS Fund urge women to stand up to the disease
Last week, one of the largest corporate non-pharmaceutical HIV and AIDS funders, used World AIDS Day to try and educate women on the growing female HIV/AIDS epidemic, after the latest figures from the UN show more women than men were infected last year. To date, the M.A.C Aids Fund has raised $190 million in support of HIV and Aids causes around the world.
22,000 women in the UK are currently living with HIV/AIDS, with infection rates showing worrying growth in the last decade. World-wide, almost 51% of the more than two million people infected with the disease in 2009 were women, yet research from the M.A.C Aids Fund has found that the majority of British women do not believe they are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
Around 60%of British women think HIV and AIDS is not an issue that impacts women in their community, while 57% of women say they are not annually tested for HIV and AIDS because they simply don’t consider themselves at risk. Overall, nearly three quarters of women admit they’ve never been tested for HIV and AIDS, while 95% of British women are not routinely tested.
To help fight this lack of awareness amongst British women the M.A.C AIDS Fund ran events around the nation on World Aids Day seeking to continue their longstanding commitment to the global fight against the disease.
Artists from M·A·C Cosmetics UK and Ireland put away their makeup kits and actively participated in a company-wide volunteer effort.
The initiative was just part of a worldwide effort involving more than 1,400 M∙A∙C employees in 120 North American cities and 30 countries, supported by Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper, the current VIVA GLAM spokespeople.
M∙A∙C Cosmetics artists from London and Edinburgh redecorated London’s Positive East and Edinburgh’s Waverley Care charities. In Dublin, M.A.C friends and colleagues joined the Open Heart House charity “Sleep Out” to raise awareness about the shame and stigma associated with the disease
Listen to this podcast with Helen Wood, General Manager M.A.C Cosmetics UK & Ireland and Dean, who is a Senior MAC Artist who talk about what they hope to achieve this World Aids Day and what you can do to help the cause.