HIV and AIDS posters

This page contains images of some of the HIV and AIDS posters that AVERT has collected in its archive from around the world. Whilst the collection is in no way a comprehensive representation of all of the posters that have been produced over the years, the images we have selected do cover a range of styles, topics and years.

The early posters (1984)

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These two posters from the UK were produced by the Terrence Higgins Trust. They are interesting from an historical perspective, as they were produced soon after HTLV-III was identified as the virus that caused AIDS. HTLV-III became known as HIV in 1986.

Who can get AIDS (1985 - 1987)

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These two posters are examples from 1985. They explain who is at risk from AIDS.

This poster, produced by AVERT in 1986, also explains who is at risk, but additionally includes some of the more simple messages that the next group of posters use. It is also of an historical interest, as it predicts that there will be 400 deaths a month and 250,000 people infected in the UK by 1991. These figures were quoted by the Public Health Laboratory Service in 1986. In fact, the actual rates were nowhere near as high as this.

In 1986, the British Government mounted a poster and leaflet campaign with the slogan "Don't Aid AIDS". This changed into the theme of "Don't die of ignorance" over the course of the next year. This poster fits in between the two campaigns. It does mirror the television advert by using an image of the word AIDS on a tombstone.

Simple transmission messages (1985-1988)

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These seven posters, ranging from 1985 to 1988, have a common theme of getting across a simple message about transmission. This was a time when HIV/AIDS was becoming a more familiar term, and these posters aim to explain about HIV/AIDS in a simple, easy to understand way. It was also a time of misunderstanding and fear, and posters such as the Terrence Higgins Trust poster from 1986, aimed to answer people's questions over HIV transmission, in this case over sharing the chalice in church.

More complex messages (1987-1992)

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These six posters try to put across their message in a slightly more complex way.

Safer sex and condoms (1987-1997)

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This group of posters range over a ten year period, from 1987 to 1997. They have moved on from simply putting out messages about how HIV is transmitted, or who is at risk, to explaining how to stop yourself becoming infected.