On World AIDS Day, the Brazilian and Ukrainian Posts are joining a long list of postal operators worldwide that have marked 30 years of the disease this year.
Brazil and Ukraine are issuing stamps and other philatelic products on 1 December to raise awareness of the risks of HIV and push the prevention message.
The Brazilian Post commissioned Ziraldo, a world-renown Brazilian illustrator, to create eight stamps using his distinct style.
The 2.4 million stamps are being launched in Brasilia during a national health conference, and an accompanying flyer, also designed by Ziraldo, will be distributed in post offices. The flyer uses the stamp images to give advice on effective ways of protecting oneself again HIV/AIDS throughout one’s life. The stamps will be on sale until 31 December 2014.
The Ukrainian Post is also issuing 150,000 copies of a single stamp highlighting 30 years of AIDS. The familiar red ribbon constitutes the centerpiece, against a spiral of sentences recalling some of the major moments in AIDS history, such as the discovery of the first case in 1981 and the number of people who have died of it.
In 2011, some 30 Posts responded to a call by the UPU to issue stamps marking 30 years of AIDS as part of a global HIV prevention campaign launched in 2009 with UNAIDS, the International Labour Organization and UNI Global Union.
The UPU estimates that more than three million AIDS stamps have been issued this year alone.
Other Posts, such as Burkina Faso, Bosnia Herzegovina, Slovakia and Luxemburg, issued their stamps in June to coincide with UNAIDS’ high-level meeting at the United Nations in New York.
Since then, the Posts of Algeria, Morocco, Mauritius, Peru, Saint Lucia and Turkey have joined them as part of the global campaign relying on the global postal network to draw attention to the still deadly disease.