Communities lie at the heart of the response to HIV–displaying extraordinary courage and resilience in addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time. Community-based organizations are often the driving forces in the response to the epidemic. Using creative and practical ways to provide treatment, care and support to people living with and affected by HIV, community initiatives address the loss of human capacity and innovate in the face of deepening poverty, stigma and discrimination. These acts of community leadership show us, in practical ways, how to shape and contain a global epidemic – one community at a time.
 
The Red Ribbon Award is a partnership of the UNAIDS family and governments. The award is presented every two years at the International AIDS Conferences to 25 community-based organizations who demonstrate outstanding community leadership and action on AIDS. Through a community-led selection process winning organizations are selected to receive a cash prize and international recognition through various mechanisms.
 
Red Ribbon Award winning organizations are invited at the International AIDS Conferences and regional conferences, where they act as the hosts of Community Dialogue Spaces.  These spaces promote bridge-building between diverse stakeholders of the response to the epidemic, encourage the sharing of peer to peer knowledge, inform national and global policy through local-global conversations, and develop capacity of its participants.

Watch the Red Ribbon 2008 Award Video below