Beauty Queen Launches AIDS Appeal in capital

EDMONTON, Oct. 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Miss World Canada Tara Teng and Edmonton musicians Holle opened doors today to an interactive African Village One Life Experience in West Edmonton Mall.

In the 186-square metre (2,000 square-feet) exhibit, four compelling stories of youth affected by AIDS come to life moving visitors beyond the grim statistics to gain an understanding of why the pandemic is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time.

"During my travels as Miss World Canada, I've seen children are the most vulnerable and at great risk in any poor country," said Teng. "It's important for all of us to step up and do what we can.  Learn about the disease.  Sponsor a child. Help save thousands of lives."

A new poll commissioned by Ipsos Reid on behalf of World Vision revealed Canadian attitudes and awareness have changed drastically since 2007:

• A majority of Canadians feel they are reasonably informed (57%) about the issue but they're less informed now (70%)
• 95 per cent of Canadians are not involved in an activity to combat HIV and AIDs
• More than half (54%) of Canadians say it's a serious problem, but to describe it as a pandemic is an exaggeration
• And only 1/3 (34%) Canadians believe that HIV and AIDs is a worldwide pandemic substantially down from before (59%)
• Now half of Canadians believe men are the most vulnerable to contracting the disease (49% vs. 29%) and half as many Canadians than before believe that young girls are the most vulnerable (15% vs. 30%)

The harsh reality is that there is a reported 34 million people, including 3.4 million children, living with HIV worldwide and a large part of that is due to mother to child transmission.

World Vision's Work
The disease continues to have significant impact on maternal and child mortality and as a result World Vision has made prevention, care and advocacy programs a top priority in the countries where we work, including:

• Health Interventions for mothers including access to antenatal care, counseling and testing for HIV and advocating for their access to antiretroviral treatment
• Strengthening community-led care for orphans and vulnerable children
• HIV prevention for youth and most at-risk populations through age-appropriate, values-based, participatory life skills training
• Partnering with various faith communities

Edmonton residents are asked to get involved in the global response. By sponsoring a child who can get access to HIV and AIDS-specific interventions and prevention education, thousands of children can be saved. Currently 21,413 generous Edmonton residents sponsor more than 26,000 children.

A number of key supporters and spokespeople were at the event:

• Sue Anderson, Marketing Manager, World Vision Canada 
• Abena Thomas, Regional Health and Technical Specialist, World Vision Canada
• Tara Teng, Miss World Canada
• Holle, local rock band
• Other key World Vision supporters

The exhibit is open in West Edmonton Mall from October 16 - January 15.  It has attracted more than 40,000 Canadians as a national tour and is free to the public. Exhibit hours coincide with regular mall hours. Parental discretion is advised.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between October 1^st to 8^th, 2012, on behalf of World Vision. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval.  In this case, the poll is accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points of all Canadians in the general population.  

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. To learn more about World Vision, please visit WorldVision.ca.

SOURCE: World Vision Canada

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Roshan Chandy
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Julia Rim Shepard
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