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Zero Discrimination Day online campaign calling for solidarity during COVID-19
Source: | Author:hkb980dd | Published time: 2020-10-22 | 853 Views | Share:



On Zero Discrimination Day (1 March), UNAIDS China Office mobilized all sister agencies for an online campaign to stop discrimination related to COVID-19.

The message of Zero Discrimination is particularly timely for China. With the outbreak of COVID-19 across China, people infected with or affected by the virus have been confronted with hostile attitudes that have generated fear and racism in societies.

UNAIDS took this year’s Zero Discrimination Day as an opportunity to call on everybody to stop discrimination and have an inclusive mind for people infected with and affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in China.  What is needed in these difficult times is humanity, solidarity and support to make sure that by acting together we can contain the spread of the virus, assist those who are in need and cure those who are infected.

UNAIDS China Office worked with New Youth Designers Alliance to create hundreds of posters sending messages of solidarity and inclusiveness. The posters were used by all UN agencies on Chinese social media with the hashtag #零歧视日# (Zero Discrimination Day) and #身有距离心无间# (love closes distance). The two hashtags received 14,734,000 and 9,874,000 views respectively. UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Huang Xiaoming’s participation gave a boost to the visibility of the campaign.


Screenshots of Weibo Posts

Background

 

On Zero Discrimination Day (1 March), UNAIDS calls on countries to examine discriminatory provisions in their laws and policies and make positive changes to ensure equality, inclusion and protection.

 

The day was first celebrated in 2014 and was launched by UNAIDS in Beijing. The day is universal in nature and does not confine itself to HIV or health related themes and aims to highlight issues related to discrimination.

 

This year, the message of Zero Discrimination is particularly timely for China. With the outbreak of COVID-19 across China, residents from the Hubei province, Chinese citizens or Asian people at large have been confronted with hostile attitudes that have  generated fear and racism in societies.

 

What is needed in these difficult times is humanity, solidarity and support to make sure that by acting together we can contain the spread of the virus, assist those who are in need and cure those who are infected. Fortunately, we have seen many expressions of solidarity to the people directly affected by the virus and we hope to amplify this and spread further messages of hope.

 

UNAIDS would like to take this year’s Zero Didscrimination Day as an opportunity to call on everybody to stop discrimination and have an inclusive mind for people infected with and affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in China. we found that:

 

·      Stigma and discrimination often thrive where people do not have information.

·      When faced stigma and discrimination, people often go underground and away from essential health services.

·      Leadership is essential in fighting stigma and discrimination.