Today condomunity and Troy Kennedy of thedebateclub have an easy message for you: Do some good with only a few clicks and support the Coke and Condoms Campaign. Join the Coke and Condoms facebook group. Invite your friends to join you. Digg this campaign, stumble it and talk about it. It’s pretty easy to see why.
Picture credits ajbeanster
Because every member matters, because every voice helps, because every click spreads awareness and helps to help Africa a bit. Condomunity.com and Troy Kennedy, a social enterpreneur and co-founder of thedebateclub, want to make helping as easy as joining this facebook group. And this is what your support will trigger:
44 million servings of Coca-Cola products are sold across Africa - a day. This equates to 16 billion bottles a year. SO how about distributing condoms on a massive scale in Africa by asking Coca-Cola to team up with the United Nations Population Fund and a condom company and ask them to supply a condom with each bottle?Pretty impressive hm? You’ve got to know that donor support for condoms in developing countries remain stagnant at this time and far below projected need. So every donor, every help, every awareness this problem gets is needed. Don’t think your vote doesn’t count, no the support of people like you made Troy’s campaign extremely popular on UK’s Channel 4 Battlefront website.
Africa’s HIV Situation
Due to the difficulty in treating HIV/AIDS, preventing infection is a key aim in controlling the epidemic, with health organizations promoting safe sex in attempts to slow the spread of the virus.
At the recent International AIDS Conference in Mexico City one thing was made clear: measures need to be taken with condoms playing a key role in comprehensive HIV prevention, but donor support for condoms in developing countries remain stagnant and far below projected need. In 2007 33.2 million people lived with the disease, it claimed 2.1 million lives in the same year. Over three-quarters of these deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The poorest African countries rely almost entirely on donations of condoms from outside agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund. The UNFPA estimates that in 2005 at least 13.1 billion condoms were needed to significantly reduce the spread of HIV and another 4.4 billion were required for family planning. The number of condoms donated in 2005 was 1.8 billion - representing just 10% of the need.
Coke Campaign Goals
We primarily aim to persuade the Coca-Cola Company to take a good look at the unique position they have and utilising their unique distribution network to deliver important medicines and protective equipment like condoms to the millions of people that desperately need them. But actually we would like to encourage everyone to help too. Do you know a company that would like to sponsor condoms or has got similar means to help out? Would you like to write a blog post about this? Have you got any other suggestions to take action? Be our guests, comment after the article, get in touch with us or do something yourself.
New Series on Condomunity
This is also the start of a new series on condomunity. Troy Kennedy will regularly post updates on how things evolve, how successful his campaigning is and what this means to him. All updates can be read on here or in a more convenient way in your feed reader of course.
Further Reading
If you want to inform yourself on the topic outside of our campaign we suggest give these organisations a visit: UNFPA, UNAIDS, Population Action International, BBC World Service Trust and PSI. You might also want to have a look at the press release concerning this article and an older post regarding the topic:
- Date: 9.9.2008 Two University Students to Take on HIV in Africa
- Date: 14.7.2008 Could Coke Fight HIV in Africa?
So, join the Coke and Condoms facebook group, vote for Troy’s Battlefront campaign if you want to see him on tv and do some good. Please feel free to contribute and comment below!
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Is there a place to donate?
Using coke for distribution is pretty clever, imho.
Posted by: Gab Goldenberg | September 12, 2008 at 11:21 pm
@Gab Goldenberg: Gab thanks for being the first one to comment. Troy currently doesn’t plan to take donations, we designed this to be a campaign everyone can easily support - without any money. You can for example share the story with all your facebook/stumble contacts, that’s how you can help effectively to make his message heard.
Posted by: Simon | September 14, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I think this is a GREAT idea. While it may not solve all the problems related to HIV in Africa, it’s a really good start - it will get people thinking and give them access to something that can save their life. It’s worth a try!
I’m already part of the facebook group, and I’d like to recommend joining - spread awareness! A big facebook group can get CocaCola to act. I’m convinced.
Keep up the good work condomunity!
Posted by: Steffi | September 14, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Kinda limiting - why not set up a simple paypal button?
Posted by: Gab Goldenberg | September 23, 2008 at 9:33 am
@ Gab G.: I think it’s really great of you to want to donate for this campaign. I’m just not sure what you want your money to be spent on? Donating for a good cause is always a good idea, but the main point of this campaign, as I understand it, is to gather as many supporters as possible in order to be able to convince the Coca Cola Company to pick up on the idea of distributing condoms. The more people think this is a good idea, the less likely it is for Coca Cola to say no. Of course money wouldn’t hurt this campaign, but with the possibilities of the internet you don’t even need it to spread the idea. Maybe once Coke has accepted the proposal, money could be raised for specific actions, then people would know what they’re donating for exactly. What do you think?
I think for now the best you can do is to spread the word in every possible way. That might be even more valuable than money, for now…
Posted by: Steffi | September 24, 2008 at 12:01 am
@ Steffi & Gab G
Steffi you are exactly right. It is important to increase numbers, yes, but in reference to people, rather than dollars at the moment. The more people that show support for a campaign like this, the more likely is it for Coke to take notice and actually do something about it. But Steffi, you have described what we are about so exactly, I’d just be repeating what you said if I continue.
At the moment, the best form of support is joining our facebook group and having as many friends do the same thing, so invite them all!
Steffi, leave a post on the facebook group wall, so I can identify you and have you made an administrator/officer if you want. Troy.
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19613726294
Posted by: Troy | September 24, 2008 at 8:00 pm