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News/Event Item
Media Leaders to Create Global Health Multimedia Event
Press Release
Contacts: WGBH Boston
Sara Green, Tel: 617/300-4249
sara_green@wgbh.org
pressroom.wgbh.org
Vulcan Productions
Jason J. Hunke, Tel: 206/342-2277
JasonH@vulcan.com
Rx for Survival documentary on PBS joins TIME and The Penguin Press;
International humanitarian and global health organizations to add outreach
Boston; April 6, 2005 - WGBH Boston and Vulcan Productions, in partnership with PBS, TIME magazine and The Penguin Press, today announced Rx for Survival - A Global Health Challenge, an unprecedented multimedia project that will inform Americans about key issues in global health. In addition, humanitarian organizations CARE, Save the Children and UNICEF, with the Global Health Council, will create an outreach campaign to benefit children, who are most vulnerable to preventable yet deadly diseases in the developing world.
This extensive media coverage will uniquely focus Americans' attention on global health through a series of special reports this fall. Funding for Rx for Survival is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Merck Company Foundation.
"The death toll from malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases rarely makes headlines, even though each year more people die from these causes than from disasters and wars," said Paula Apsell, senior executive producer for the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit. "Through the Rx for Survival multimedia partners alone, we have an opportunity to reach more than 100 million Americans, dramatically raising awareness of some of these critical but under-reported health challenges."
The cornerstone of the project is a six-hour, primetime PBS television series filmed in more than 20 countries around the world, including the United States. Co-produced by the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit and Vulcan Productions, the series highlights public health breakthroughs and interventions that have more than doubled life expectancy in developed countries within the past century. The series also explores how lack of access to these basic interventions leaves many impoverished countries plagued by preventable diseases. As well, the series looks at the effort to deliver vaccines and medicines where they are most needed. Rx for Survival airs November 1-3 at 9 p.m. EST on PBS.
"This series is compelling because it puts a human face on global health, telling powerful stories of public health heroes and of ordinary people who suffer from preventable illnesses. At the same time, it demonstrates that solutions are within our reach," said Richard Hutton, vice president of media development at Vulcan Productions. "Rx for Survival will take global health concerns right into the living rooms and hearts of Americans, inspiring them to join us in making this issue both a personal and a national priority."
"At the center of this exceptional effort, the six-hour Rx for Survival primetime broadcast demonstrates PBS's commitment to this important issue," said John F. Wilson, senior vice president of programming at PBS. "The series also reinforces the unique role public broadcasting plays in the television landscape, as this effort launches an 18-month health-focused campaign by PBS that includes programming, online content and community outreach."
As part of the mulTIMEdia event, TIME magazine will publish a special cover issue on global health on October 31. That same week, TIME will hold a Global Health Summit in New York City, bringing together medical experts, politicians and business leaders to discuss new ways to combat illnesses like AIDS, malaria, TB, malnutrition and cholera. "We're proud to join in this unprecedented effort to confront the global health challenges our world faces," said Eileen Naughton, president of TIME magazine. "By casting the spotlight on problems that transcend borders and affect the lives of billions of people, we hope projects like our special issue and summit will catalyze the public to take action on a global scale."
The Penguin Press will publish a companion book titled Rx for Survival: Why We Must Rise to the Global Health Challenge by award-winning author and journalist Philip J. Hilts. In addition, PBS will host a Web site that will deepen educational opportunities for viewers and the public, provide online materials for classroom use, and link to further resources on global public health.
Rx for Survival has also brought together premiere international humanitarian organizations including CARE, Save the Children and UNICEF, in conjunction with the Global Health Council and corporate, youth enrichment, public health, faith-based and nonprofit organizations, to respond specifically to the pressing need to increase resources for child survival. In June, this group will launch the Rx for Child Survival campaign, encouraging Americans to help give children in developing countries a fighting chance to make it to their fifth birthday – a key milestone for the survival of children in the developing world.
"Save the Children, CARE and UNICEF are three of the most respected humanitarian organizations in the world, empowering people in the poorest countries to improve their health in a sustainable way" said Nils Daulaire, president and CEO of the Global Health Council, the largest membership alliance focused on global health and an Rx for Survival project advisor. "These organizations are combining their unique capabilities on behalf of child survival, setting an example for all of us to work together on global health solutions as the need grows larger and increasingly personal."
For more information about the Rx for Survival project, and to sign up for an e-newsletter about global health, visit our Web site at http://www.pbs.org/rxforsurvival
WGBH Boston (http://www.wgbh.org ) provides fully one-third of PBS's primetime lineup, along with some of public television's best-known lifestyle shows and children's programs, as well as many public radio favorites. WGBH is also home to the NOVA Science Unit, which has won every major broadcasting award. In its 32nd season, NOVA is one of the most watched series on PBS and is seen in more than 100 countries.
Founded in 1997 by investor Paul G. Allen, Vulcan Productions (http://www.vulcanproductions.com ) devotes itself exclusively to producing independent films of unique vision and artistic quality. With critically acclaimed feature film projects and award-winning documentaries, the company commits its talent and resources to creating films of substance and enduring significance.
Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, PBS (http://www.pbs.org ) is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 349 public noncommercial television stations, reaching over 90 million people each week through on-air and online content.
The Penguin Press is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., the U.S. affiliate of the internationally renowned Penguin Group (http://www.penguin.com ). Penguin Group is the second-largest English-language trade book publisher in the world.
TIME is the world's leading weekly news magazine. With 30 million readers each week, TIME reaches more Americans than any other news source. http://www.TIME.com is the most visited online magazine, attracting three million viewers per month.
CARE (http://www.care.org ) fights root causes of poverty in the world's poorest communities. This includes working with poor families to help them get the knowledge and resources they need to combat hunger, malnutrition, disease and other risks to children's health.
Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org ) is the leading independent nonprofit humanitarian relief and development organization working to create lasting change for children in need in more than 100 countries throughout the developing world and in rural communities throughout the United States.
The leading children's organization in the world, UNICEF (http://www.unicefusa.org ) was founded in 1946 to save, protect, and improve the lives of children and their families. UNICEF's lifesaving programs include immunization, health care, HIV/AIDS prevention, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, emergency relief, child protection, and education.
The Global Health Council (http://www.globalhealth.org ) is a powerful research, advocacy and information group representing a highly respected membership of health professionals and non-governmental organizations working in more than 100 countries.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org ) works to promote greater equity in four areas: global health, education, public libraries, and support for at-risk families in Washington state and Oregon in the United States. The Seattle-based foundation joins local, national and international partners to ensure that advances in these areas reach those who need them most. The foundation is led by Bill Gates's father, William H. Gates Sr., and Patty Stonesifer.
The Merck Company Foundation (http://www.merck.com ) is a U.S.-based private charitable foundation established in 1957 by Merck & Co., Inc., a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. The Merck Company Foundation is funded entirely by the Company and is Merck's chief source of funding support to qualified non-profit charitable organizations. Since its inception, the Foundation has supported initiatives that address societal needs and are consistent with Merck's overall mission to enhance the health and well-being of people around the world.
View this Press Release in PDF format: PDF (21K)
category: Global Health Council News : Announcements
contributed by Andrea Welch on 29 April 2005
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