http://www.exduco.net/news.php?id=1960

Humanitarian Goal For Football Study - 2007-07-17

Football could become a powerful tool in helping tackle the ticking AIDS ‘timebomb’ facing Papua New Guinea – with help from a University of Derby student.

Student Amy Gill, 28, is gearing up to spend a month in the Oceania region to conduct research for her final year dissertation for her BSc (Hons) International Relations and Global Development course.

Out of all HIV infections recorded in the Oceanic continent, more than 90% of them are in Papua New Guinea, and since 1997, new cases have risen by 30% each year (UN 2006).

In a month-long tour of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand arranged in collaboration with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), Papua New Guinea Football Association and the FIFA Development Officer in the region, the Derby student will meet and interview leading politicians, football and sports officials, AIDS project workers and affected communities.

The research will form part of her final year independent project entitled: ‘Balls to AIDS! A study into how the Oceania Football Confederation can collaborate with other organisations in order to positively contribute to the response to AIDS in Papua New Guinea’.

Amy suggests that football, through its health promotion, teamwork and fitness ethos, and through the likes of encouraging football coaches to spread the ‘safe sex’ message to young people who look to them as mentors, could all help in the fight against the spread of AIDS and HIV.

She will look to highlight similar best practice approaches involving football which have helped pay dividends in African countries such as Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Amy, from Church Street, Matlock, said: “According to UNAIDS, Papua New Guinea is on the verge of an AIDS epidemic.

“FIFA Vice President and Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) President Reynald Temarii makes it clear through his statements and the ‘OFC’ Vision, a 12-year development plan (2006/2018), that football is to be used as a development tool to educate, develop and empower pacific youth (male and female) to improve the quality of their life by becoming self sufficient, productive, responsible and involved, and to make and implement informed decisions about their future.

“Under his leadership, OFC and its 15 member associations became key actors in promoting sports orientated development programmes and, as a result, a regional cooperation agreement with the UN offices in Samoa and PNG including 12 UN agencies was signed in November 2006. One of the objectives clearly identified within this partnership is to combat HIV/AIDS.

“In Papua New Guinea, there is scope for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to play an important role in the response to AIDS, in collaboration with other organisations and the national government.

“The aim of this research is to establish how the aims and approaches of these different organisations can be brought together into a unified action plan to combat the epidemic and increase awareness of the disease, and in doing so, help OFC and the football family to deliver on their philosophy of social responsibility and development.”

Dr Derek Walton, Head of Geography, Earth, Environment and Sport, at the University, said: “Amy's project is a perfect demonstration of how we encourage our students to think more widely about the implications of the academic work that we do.

“Worldwide Health and Development are central to degree programmes such as International Relations and Global Development, and we are convinced that this project will have lasting benefits to the region.”

Specifically, Amy has meetings scheduled with UNAIDS, UNDP, PNG National AIDS Council, PNG Football Association, PNG Sports Federation, PNG National Olympic Committee, as well as the Oceania Football Confederation in Auckland.

As part of the study, which will focus much attention on the country’s capital Port Moresby, Amy aims to provide a clear picture of HIV prevalence in Papua New Guinea; provide a detailed overview of the differing aims and approaches towards the response to AIDS, of OFC, the football family and other relevant organisations and evaluate the level of awareness surrounding HIV, and the popularity of football.

And, after completing research abroad and in the UK at the end of her study, she hopes to make recommendations on how best the Oceania Football Confederation and the other organisations involved can work together and implement specific projects using football as a development strategy to raise awareness of HIV and deliver an effective programme to combat the problem.