In an unprecedented project, Stars against AIDS, UNAIDS has brought together a group of accomplished women from Russia and Ukraine.
They are alarmed by the high number of new infections of HIV/AIDS cases registered in their countries and by the on-going feminization of the epidemic. In 2007, 44% of all new HIV cases in Russia were registered among women resulting in an increasing number of children born to HIV-positive mothers.
It is not by chance that UNAIDS has invited these women to support the project Stars against AIDS. Women are traditionally the hearth holders, caring for their children and the health and happiness of their families. These women have participated in the project to help dispel the taboos and prejudice that often surround HIV/AIDS and to increase tolerance towards people living with HIV.
This project is about love and respect for those that are close to us and about tolerance and understanding for those who are different.
Photographer Serge Golovach has captured this concern and sense of empathy in his portraits of the women participating in this project.
In collaboration with UNAIDS.
