This is a picture of a beaded South-African red ribbon badge. The red ribbon became an international symbol of AIDS awareness during 1991. The organisation Visual AIDS in New York, together with Broadway Cares, and Equity Fights AIDS, established the wearing of a Red Ribbon as something that signified support for people living with HIV/AIDS. The red ribbon started as a "grass roots" effort, and as a result, there is no official red ribbon, and many people make their own. To make your own ribbons, get some ordinary red ribbon, about 1.5 cm's wide and cut it into strips about 15 cm's long. Then fold at the top into an inverted "V" shape and put a safety pin through the centre, which you use to attach the ribbon to your clothing. More about World AIDS Day can be found at http://www.avert.org/worldaid.htm

This photo is part of a larger HIV and AIDS picture gallery. For more HIV and AIDS photos visit http://www.avert.org/historyi.htm

Please note, that this South African red ribbon picture is copyrighted. If you wish to use it or any part of it on your site, or in any other way, please ask permission from the copyright holder. The contact details of the copyright holders can be found here.

Photo credit: � AVERT