Kids are playing football barefoot in a township. A woman is refereeing. "They call me Coach, but really I am a nurse." Cut to Coach in uniform, preparing a bed and treating a patient.

Coach shares the health issue in her community. "Many kids here have HIV. They get a lot of skin problems" - shots of the kids during the game. "I see it all the time. They get worse when they’re not treated." Cut to Coach assessing a boys arm: "You must never take your skin for granted."

"That's why this training is important to me." You see Coach learning with other medical professionals at a training event in South Africa. The stats showing the importance of dermatological care follows.

Cut to Coach sharing her perspective. “When you’re a nurse your life is about helping other people. The more you can help, the better your life is.”

There are no restrictions or regulations relating to Vaseline® product communications in South Africa. For this particular film, the sole restriction in place is that medical professionals cannot directly endorse brands.

KwaZulu-Natal, where Coach works, is known as Ground Zero for HIV. The disease was first diagnosed here, and infection rates are the highest in the world (officially 16%, but local health workers estimate the rate at 50%).

HIV causes many complications, and skin problems are the most prevalent and visible. Research by the University of KwaZulu-Natal shows HIV sufferers stand a 90% chance of developing skin complications due to compromised immunity. Without training, minor skin complaints can become serious health issues if misdiagnosed or untreated.

However, there is only 1 trained dermatologist for every 260,000 South Africans, due to an acute need for training. Prior to The Vaseline® Healing Project, there was no formal dermatological training for nurses in the region.

HIV is a politically complex issue in South Africa. We had to avoid grand claims while bringing this important topic to life. We did this through one nurse’s story.