Caribbean Broadcast Media partnership launches HIV/AIDS education campaign in conjunction with cricket world cup

The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS on Thursday in advance of the Cricket World Cup opening launched LIVE UP -- the first pan-Caribbean campaign led by broadcasters to encourage and empower youth to learn about HIV and take action to fight the spread of the virus in the region -- the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation reports (Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, 3/8).

CBMP includes more than 50 radio and television companies from 23 Caribbean nations and aims to broaden access to effective HIV/AIDS messages. It was formed in May 2006 at the Caribbean Broadcast Media Leadership Summit on HIV/AIDS, which was organized by the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, the Caribbean Broadcasting Union and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The campaign -- called LIVE UP: Love. Protect. Respect. -- will promote positive messages through local television and radio public service announcements; entertainment and public affairs programming; complementary local programming developed by national and regional broadcasters; regular news packages; and rights-free programming adapted for the campaign from partners, including Black Entertainment Television and MTV. The campaign's programs will be broadcast in 23 countries by CBMP members. The International Cricket Council also is supporting the campaign. ICC has made HIV/AIDS the official health focus of this year's Cricket World Cup, and LIVE UP PSAs will air at the opening of the tournament on March 11 in Jamaica and be shown throughout the games. "LIVE UP represents a new and innovative model of collaboration by media companies -- working together and in partnership with local and international organizations -- to help fight HIV/AIDS across companies and country boundaries," Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said. According to CBMP Steering Committee Chair Allyson Leacock, LIVE UP is "not a campaign of one broadcaster, one country or even one year." She added, "As the first media-led AIDS education effort to span the entire Caribbean region, LIVE UP will involve major broadcasters on every island working together, across different media but with unified messages and a shared approach, to help turn back this disease and protect the health of our young people." LIVE UP is about "hope, empowerment and possibility," Scott Campbell -- executive director of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which provides financial support for the campaign -- said. Ford Foundation Deputy Vice President Jacob Gayle said, "Through LIVE UP and the larger CBMP effort, Caribbean broadcasters are using their tremendous influence in society to encourage all of their audiences, especially young people, to live healthy lives, free from the threat of HIV/AIDS" (CBMP release, 3/8).

Cricket Players Featured in PSAs as Part of ICC, UNAIDS, UNICEF Campaign
Cricket players from countries participating in the Cricket World Cup, which begins March 11, are being featured in PSAs as part of a collaboration between ICC, UNAIDS and UNICEF to address the HIV/AIDS among children, Guyana's Stabroek News reports (Stabroek News, 3/7). The PSAs -- which are part of the "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS" campaign -- each last 30 seconds and feature cricket players talking about HIV/AIDS prevention, Barbados' Nation News reports. Players and officials from each team also will wear the red and blue ribbon of the "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS" campaign during the tournament's first and final games (Nation News, 3/7). "The spirit of cricket is a special part of our game and is a concept that stretches beyond the boundaries of the outfield," ICC President Percy Sonn said, adding, "We hope the range of activities delivered at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 will make a difference to raising awareness and reducing stigma around HIV in the Caribbean and across the ever-growing cricket world. By encouraging high-profile players to support this campaign, we hope to be able to engage those who may otherwise be difficult to reach" (UNICEF release, 3/6).