US Agency Launches POU Project in India
The US Agency for International Development plans to launch a two-year pilot project in the Indian city of Chennai to test the effectiveness of point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices in battling gastrointestinal disease… The Point-of-Use Zinc Treatment (POUZN) project, which is expected to begin in 2007, will be implemented through social marketing projects and public-private partnerships.
AIDS Awareness
Care India…is using various film songs and quiz programmes to create awareness…The audience not only enjoy the songs but also take part in quiz programmes based on AIDS awareness. People also receive gifts for the correct answer.
According to social marketing officer of the NGO Varun Kumar, the event is getting overwhelming response from the residents here.
Young African Women Report Sharp Rise in Condom Use
Stronger promotion of condom use could help put the brakes on the global HIV-AIDS epidemic according to a new study published in the British medical journal, The Lancet…
The Bush administration's response to the worldwide AIDS epidemic, known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, funds global HIV prevention programs. PEPFAR promotes a three-pronged approach to prevention of the sexually- transmitted disease that it calls "ABC," where A stands for abstinence, B for be faithful and C for condoms. PEPFAR administrator Mark Dybul says, "The data are clear that you need all three components" to effectively fight the AIDS epidemic.
But some critics fault the ABC approach for emphasizing abstinence over condom use. Lancet study author John Cleland says the U.S. policy amounts to an embargo on the social marketing and promotion of condoms. "Other donors have to step in and fill that gap, because the unsung hero of the game are the people who make condoms familiar, available and affordable."
Name and Shame - A Sign of Desperation in a Crisis [Swaziland]
… People just need to understand that sexual freedom is eternal vigilance. Taking universally accepted precautions should be the common thread running through our messages-not shaming.
The latter approach creates a tempo of hostility as it easily construed as a personal attack. It clearly does not motivate for positive change since it cannot be embraced in the first instance. Anybody in doubt can prove this through a child. Keep condemning a child for all the mischief and see if there would be any positive behaviour change. Attempting to shame people only makes them stick to their guns, no matter how much they need to shift-for their sake. The resistance created is worse than that created by Anti-retroviral drugs taken inconsistently. We cannot afford to create resistance at this point of the HIV crisis. In a crisis, it is silly to keep saying, but they are resisting the truth. We rather have to package the truth in an appealing way-this has to be social marketing not a church sermon where the truth is not told in love.
Slap Sales Tax on Junk Food, Panel Urges
British Columbians should start paying provincial sales tax on junk food, says a legislative committee which spent the past year studying ways to fight childhood obesity…
The committee also suggested forming a provincial nutrition and exercise council, composed of representatives of all levels of government, healthy-living advocates and food-industry stakeholders.
Key goals of that council would include working with industry to voluntarily reduce fat, sugar and salt contents in products. It would spearhead the creation of new "warning" labels that would appear on package-fronts, and create a "social marketing" campaign against junk food similar to those against tobacco and impaired driving.
The council would also investigate the feasibility of a further tax specifically on junk food, something that Act Now Minister Gordon Hogg has said government is already exploring. However, such an idea has generated mixed support from the public. A recent poll showed that 53 per cent of Canadians are somewhat or strongly opposed to a special tax on junk food as a possible way to fight obesity, while 45 per cent somewhat or strongly support it.
USAID/Nepal Supports the Fight against HIV/AIDS
Nepal Social Marketing and Franchise Project (N-MARC): Achieving adequate coverage of vital health products and services requires both public and private sector involvement in Nepal. Building on past successes and learning, USAID/Nepal is supporting social marketing/franchising of key family planning, maternal and child health and HIV commodities through the N-MARC project. The goal is to increase access to key health products for a large segment of the population by providing an affordable and accessible alternative to free government products and services. This project will continue to target HIV/AIDS prevention, reproductive health and child survival.
Products marketed through the program include clean delivery kits, disinfectant, oral rehydration salts, condoms and a full range of contraceptives for family planning.
See also Nepal News coverage.
Privacy, Security Seen as Key to PHRs
Ensuring the privacy and security of information stored in personal health records while promoting awareness of the benefits of their use and ensuring the portability of the information they contain were named as the key elements necessary for widespread adoption of PHRs during a meeting Tuesday of the consumer-empowerment work group of the American Health Information Community, the health information-technology advisory panel for the HHS…
The panel also determined that mandating PHR functions and setting interoperability standards were not items in its jurisdiction, and it brainstormed on what its role would be in a "social marketing" effort to promote consumer awareness of the benefits of PHRs, as well as the secondary use of the data they contain.
Ashley Judd Uses Celebrity Influence to Fight Global HIV/AIDS
…Judd got involved in YouthAIDS four years ago after a call from founder Kate Roberts, a former ad exec who wanted to use the power of advertising against HIV/AIDS.
As Roberts put it, her job entailed "selling bubble gum and cigarettes to 12-year-olds." But during an AIDS-related project in Romania, she realized the potential synergy of social marketing and disease prevention, so Roberts quit her job and founded a company that used the same tactics to fight the disease. And that meant incorporating celebrities.
Judd had received a plea from Bono the same week to join him in speaking out against AIDS, and she couldn't ignore the coincidence.
"That seemed like a pretty obvious God deal," Judd said.
Namibia: Special CDs and Event in Fighting Aids
Today marks World AIDS Day and the launch of NamibiAlive! - a compilation of CDs featuring awareness messages and songs by popular Namibian artists.
CDs will be distributed free to truck- and combi-drivers throughout Namibia…
The Social Marketing Association (SMA), creator of the highly successful New Start campaign, helped with the promotion of the album by designing and distributing NamibiAlive! posters and stickers. SMA will also use its outreach expertise to distribute the CDs to the more remote regions of Namibia.
Focus Activities Take Aim at Substance Abuse Awareness
…In another effort to raise awareness, Floyd County [Iowa] residents will soon see billboards, advertising and other material giving tips for parents on how to get involved with their children.
Focus has partnered with other communities to launch a social marketing campaign that will reach 10 counties.
“The focus will be getting parents to think a little bit. Do you know where your children are? Do you know who their friends are?” said Orthel. “It’s that education for parents. The more you talk to your kid, the less likely they are to try drugs.”
Before You Shop... Plan Your Spending
With Christmas just weeks away, many Americans are already in the shopping mode. But before you spend, you may want to budget your finances.
To help with your budgeting, Northwoods [Rhinelander, Wisconsin] Saves Executive Director Phil Schlachtenhaufen is hosting a series of six workshops. From planning your spending and handling your credit to retirement and estate planning, Schlachtenhaufen is helping residents take control of their financial situations free of charge…
The goal of Northwoods Saves is to change this situation by helping residents plan their expenses for the long-run and by encouraging parents to get their children more involved in financial affairs at a young age… Northwoods Saves is a non-profit local organization, which is a part of America Saves, a national social marketing program.
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