Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Rounds Up Worldwide Media-Related World AIDS Day Events
A number of broadcast and cable television stations will air special programming to commemorate World AIDS Day. The following are summaries of some of the upcoming programs, listed alphabetically by network:
- BET: A special edition of the show "Life Track," titled "HIV/AIDS and the African American," examines how HIV/AIDS has touched the daily lives of African Americans (Kaiser Family Foundation release 11/26).
- BET: "Watch Yourself 2," a special live episode of "106th and Park," focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention strategies for young people and answers their questions about safer sex (KFF release, 11/26).
- Cable Positive: Networks such as MTV, BET, Lifetime, Comedy Central, Court TV, CNN, Bravo, Game Show Network and A&E will air public service announcements featuring Miss Universe 2001 Denise Quinones August, actor Billy Bob Thornton and MTV cartoonist Judd Winick sponsored by Cable Positive, the cable and telecommunication industry's not-for-profit AIDS organization. Each PSA concludes with the CDC's National AIDS Hotline number and the address of a CDC Web site where viewers can get more information about HIV/AIDS. The PSAs may be viewed online at cablepositive.org (Cable Positive release, 11/28).
- Discovery Health Channel: A two-part series titled "AIDS: Answers & Breakthroughs" explores how AIDS patients and people living with asymptomatic HIV are coping with the personal and emotional issues of the disease (Discovery Health Channel release, 11/26).
- Discovery Health Channel: A documentary titled "AIDS: Life on the Streets," which will only air in Canada, compiles interviews with drug users, sex workers and immigrants living on the streets of cities in the United States, Canada and Latin America. The interviewees discuss the spread of HIV within their communities (Alliance Atlantis Communications release, 11/6).
- Discovery Health Channel: "Beating the Odds: Living Against the Odds" is one show of a four-part series on people who are living with chronic health conditions. "Living Against the Odds" features former Playboy centerfold Rebekka Armstrong, who is living with AIDS and educating others about the disease. This program will only air in Canada (AAC release, 11/6).
- Discovery Health Channel: Canadian U8TV's "Lofters AIDS Special: AIDS, Is the Crisis Over?" explores why young people continue to put themselves at risk for HIV, discusses why attitudes have changed since the discovery of HIV and interviews medical professionals and young people about the state of AIDS in Canada. This program will only air in Canada (AAC release, 11/6).
- Discovery Health Channel: "South Africa: Unprotected" highlights the grassroots efforts of residents of Soweto, South Africa, to educate others about safe sex practices, medical treatment and the experiences of people living with AIDS (Discovery Health Channel release, 11/26).
- Disney Channel: Produced in 1998, the documentary special "Friends for Life: Living with AIDS" shows HIV-positive children speaking about their hopes for the future and the importance of friendship. The show also features HIV-negative children who educate their peers about the disease by answering questions (Disney Channel release, 11/19). To watch a clip of the show, click here.
- MTV: Produced by MTV Europe in association with the Kaiser Family Foundation in partnership with UNAIDS and the World Bank, "Staying Alive 3," hosted by hip hop artist Sean "P Diddy" Combs, focuses on safe sex, high-risk groups, living with HIV, caring for someone with HIV and access to treatment. The show will air on MTV networks globally on Saturday (MTV release, 11/23). Bill Roedy, President of MTV Networks International and Ambassador for UNAIDS said, "With young people accounting for 50% of new HIV infections, MTV will continue to dedicate its airwaves, which reach a potential youth audience of more than one billion, to communicating prevention, anti-discrimination and awareness messages to help them avoid infection" (MTV release, 11/26).
- PBS: Sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, "Positively: The Changing Face of AIDS in America" focuses on the daily lives of adults, teenagers and children living with HIV/AIDS and how therapy, support groups, churches and family can provide emotional support. The program's companion website, www.wellme.com/aids.html, has information on testing, referrals, support, getting involved in AIDS activism and a link to PBS' online station finder and schedules. A set of individual educational videos for caregivers of children with HIV, young adults and adults with HIV are available online. The program will air across the country between November 2001 and November 2002 (WellMe/State of the Art, Inc. release, 11/26). To view a clip of the program, click here.
- TLC: "Circumcision vs. AIDS in Africa" examines the association between male circumcision and reducing the risk of HIV transmission. The show notes that tribes that do not practice circumcision are at a five-to-eightfold higher risk of contracting HIV than those that engage in the practice. The program also shows Chicago viral pathologist Bruce Patterson studying a living adult foreskin to see how it reacts to HIV (TLC release, 11/5).
Film Festival
The San Francisco Black Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Film Festival on Saturday will screen a series of films about AIDS in black communities, here and abroad. Some of the films include "The Naked Truth," a 60-minute documentary about young
African-American gay men's sexuality, and "Shouting Silent," which depicts a girl orphaned by AIDS and explores the AIDS epidemic in South Africa (LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/28).
Online Webcasts
The following events will be featured on kaisernetwork.org's HealthCast Web site today and tomorrow:
- UNAIDS: Town Hall Meeting on the World AIDS Day Campaign theme, "I Care ... Do You?," will focus on how individuals, particularly young men, can make a difference in the fight against AIDS. The live HealthCast will be today, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m ET.
- AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families: "Youth and HIV/AIDS Prevention Policy: New Directions," co-sponsored by the Academy for Educational Development. The HealthCast will be available after 5 p.m. ET today.
- Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and George Washington University: "The World Wide HIV/AIDS Epidemic and How Young People Can Make a Difference" is a town-hall style meeting that will highlight the current state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how young people can make a difference. The Web cast is currently available.
- MTV: "Staying Alive 3" will be available for viewing tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET (kaisernetwork.org release, 11/27)