Puppets Take to Mexican TV for HIV Education

In Global Featured, Mexico, News by Fiona Ip

Kids love puppets! And between Rosa, a cute and curious blue puppet with a great sense of humor, and seasoned entertainer and host Alan Estrada, the AHF Mexico team has found an innovative way to reach children and adolescent youth with HIV education via a fun and informative TV show!

The first-ever HIV education television program for children in Mexico – “HIV Voice for Children!” – recently wrapped up a month-long run of weekly 30-minute broadcasts to address topics on health, including HIV prevention, children’s rights, and combatting stigma and discrimination. The show featured experts and specialized organizations who were interviewed by Ale and Roque – puppet correspondents! Panelists also shared facts and figures and introduced activities kids could complete at home.

“Despite great progress made since the early days of HIV/AIDS, the child-centered response remains lagging behind, making HIV education extremely important for all children,” said AHF Mexico Country Program Manager Nicole Finkelstein. “With advocacy efforts like this engaging television show, we’re able to deliver education to people in regions of the country where we have no presence, and particularly to children in vulnerable communities.”

Episode 1
Episode 2
Youth, particularly young women and girls, are disproportionately affected by HIV and have been an AHF advocacy priority for many years, resulting in the creation of the successful Girls Act empowerment program in 2016. In 2019 alone, 460,000 young people ages 10 to 24 contracted HIV, of whom 170,000 were adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19, according to UNICEF.
AHF has been working in Mexico since 2013 and currently provides HIV care and treatment to nearly 70,000 registered clients.
AHF Salutes Biden Administration on Donation of 500M Doses of Pfizer’s Vaccine to Poor Nations
G7 Must ‘Vaccinate Our World’ – Join the Tweet Storm!