News from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance For immediate release, and for events diaries

Unheard Voices, Hidden Lives, an exhibition of photographs taken by people affected by HIV and AIDS in Cambodia, Ecuador and India, is being held at Brighton's Jubilee Library from Monday 13 November until 4 December.

Unheard Voices, Hidden Lives is the result of a participatory photography project, supported by the Brighton-based International HIV/AIDS Alliance. The project - part of the Alliance's Frontiers Prevention Project, and carried out in collaboration with PhotoVoice - has trained 45 gay men (and other men who have sex with men), sex workers and people living with HIV in Cambodia, Ecuador and India to use a camera effectively, and then photograph their own experiences of the world.

Joseph O'Reilly, manager of the participatory photo project at the Alliance said: "the project is really exciting as it has the potential to dramatically increase the visibility of groups who are key to the HIV epidemic across the developing world - men who have sex with men, sex workers and people living with HIV. These are often the people most affected by the epidemic, but with least control over how they are perceived by the rest of the world."

The exhibition will provide an unparalleled opportunity to see and hear first hand the stories and experiences of people whose voices are often missing from public discussions about the HIV pandemic, and who are often invisible and forgotten by their governments, health and other service providers in the response to the epidemic.

Joseph adds: "Their testimonies and the images of their experiences can teach us all a lot about the ongoing stigma and discrimination that surrounds HIV and AIDS, both near and far. It has already been an incredibly empowering experience for the individuals involved in the project."

It is hoped that the exhibition will be on display to government policy makers in the UK Department for International Development in London during the next few months, and will travel internationally to Cambodia, Ecuador and India during 2007. It will also appear as an online exhibition on the Alliance website from 13 November at www.aidsalliance.org/unheardvoices.

The Brighton exhibition at the Jubilee library is free to all members of the public. The Alliance is also launching a book of the participants' photographs and testimonies at the exhibition. The book will be available to order and download from the Alliance website at www.aidsalliance.org/unheardvoices.

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Editor's notes

1. Established in 1993, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is a global partnership of nationally-based organisations working to support community action on AIDS in developing countries. These national partners help local community groups and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to take action on AIDS, and are supported by technical expertise, policy work and fundraising carried out at the UK-based international secretariat and across the Alliance.

2. The Alliance has worked with community organisations from over 40 countries, provided financial support to over 3,000 projects (implemented by over 2,000 community and faith-based groups). Expenditure in 2005 alone was over US $45 million (£25 million).

3. The Frontiers Prevention Project is a multi-country prevention-focused initiative which aims to slow the spread of HIV and build up effective and sustainable community responses. It focuses on low-prevalence countries that are put at risk by the growing pandemic, working specifically in Cambodia, Ecuador, India, Madagascar and Morocco.

4. PhotoVoice is an award-winning international charity and the only development organisation of its kind in Europe. Its projects empower some of the most disadvantaged groups in the world with photographic skills so that they can transform their lives. Through establishing in-field photojournalism workshops its projects enable those who are traditionally the subjects of photography to become its creator. Through photography these individuals find confidence in their voices and are enabled to speak out about their challenges, concerns, hopes and fears. www.photovoice.org.

5. Some of the project's participants will be in the UK for the launch in November, and available for interview.

6. More information about the work of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance is available from www.aidsalliance.org. Alternatively, and to arrange interviews, please contact Simon Moore. T: 01273 718744. E: smoore@aidsalliance.org or Rhian Evans. T: 01273 718961. E: revans@aidsalliance.org

7. Donations to the International HIV/AIDS Alliance can be made online at www.aidsaliance.org.

8. World AIDS Day takes place on 1 December.

Notes on the HIV epidemic in Cambodia, Ecuador and India

CAMBODIA Despite committed efforts on the part of government, non-governmental organisations and civil society, Cambodia remains the country most affected by HIV/AIDS in Asia, with a national prevalence of approximately 2.6%. Over 250,000 people have been infected with HIV in Cambodia since the beginning of the epidemic in 1991, and 94,000 people have died of AIDS.

It is estimated that 7.8% of children below 15 in Cambodia have lost one or both parents - approximately 335,000 children. Care of orphans is a major concern in a country still recovering from decades of civil unrest and facing extreme poverty.

The epidemic is now shifting from traditionally high-risk populations such as sex workers into the general population. The highest numbers of new infections now occur in housewives. However, there is increasing recognition of other significant modes, including sex between men and injecting drug use.

ECUADOR Ecuador is located in the north-west section of South America, sharing borders with Colombia, Brazil and Peru. There are four distinct geographic regions - coast, mountains, the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands - divided into 22 provinces. Ecuador's 13,192,000 citizens are concentrated in urban areas (64%). One third of the population is under the age of 15, and almost 5% are over 65 years old. A million citizens have emigrated from Ecuador in the last few years, and 6.3% of the population migrates internally - the majority (65%) of whom are under the age of 30. Ecuador's estimated HIV prevalence rate in adults is 0.3%.

As Colombia's neighbour, Ecuador is caught up in a military and economic response to Colombia's civil and drug wars. The wars also present a serious migration problem for Ecuador, with an estimated 1,000 Colombians entering Ecuador illegally each month, many of whom stay in Santo Domingo de los Colorados. Many of these migrants, primarily women, become involved in sex work because of the socio-economic pressures they have to deal with as they attempt to resettle in Ecuador.

The intensified economic crisis that Ecuador has been experiencing since 1999 has exacerbated the spread of HIV/AIDS. Over this period, there has been a sharp decrease in household incomes, levels of unemployment have risen dramatically, and levels of poverty throughout the country have increased significantly - most crucially in communities already highly vulnerable to infection, such as people who sell sex, migrants and urban populations.

The economic crisis has meant that people living with HIV/AIDS cannot afford adequate nutrition, medical attention and medication. In addition, the last year has seen the government redirect funds away from public health. The scarce funds that have been allocated to these areas are directed toward the poorest sectors of society and only address their most basic health needs, ignoring the many Ecuadorian citizens whose income is judged to be just above that of the poorest.

INDIA India has the second largest number of people living with HIV in the world, currently estimated to be 5.7 million people. This represents an adult prevalence rate of 0.9%. Recently, the annual number of new infections is estimated to have declined somewhat, from 610,000 in 2002 to 510,000 in 2003.

Although HIV prevalence nationwide is still relatively low, huge differences in prevalence exist across states, districts, and even villages. About 70% of HIV cases are located in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland. Surveillance data trends suggest that most of the new cases of HIV infection in the next five to seven years will continue to be found in these states.

HIV transmission mainly occurs through sexual contact (86% of cases), especially in the context of commercial sex. In India, there is increasing prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and HIV among sex workers and their clients. Prompt treatment of these sexually transmitted infections would greatly reduce the risk of HIV transmission.