Some soap operas have worked to change knowledge and attitudes on HIV. Some have not. Both are expensive. It would be good to see previous evidence of impact in this proposal.
[him] moderator
******************************
HIV-AIDS Multimedia Project
Soap operas go where health workers cannot
In villages and slums along the Thailand-Burma border, HIV/AIDS is spreading faster now than health officials could have predicted even a few years ago. This is due in large part to an influx of impoverished Burmese refugees, swelling the local population. HIV and AIDS are now found not just among sex workers and drug addicts, but also among day laborers, mothers and babies. HIV cases are spreading faster than doctors can count, and AIDS, now almost unchecked in the region, is wiping out families.
Imagine for a moment what it’s like to fight AIDS in a place where anti-retroviral treatment is practically non-existent. Think about how hard it must be to provide crucial health education in a culture where long-established taboos constantly restrict such teaching, and where possession of condoms was a punishable offence less than twenty years ago.
Knowledge is our greatest tool for changing lives, and public education in the guise of entertainment can be a life-saving magic bullet.
Now imagine a popular ‘daytime drama’-style TV series, produced in the region, and broadcast to a large Burmese audience during primetime: A soap opera for safe sex and better health.
Soaps are the most popular television genre in the Thai-Burma region. Thai and Burmese audiences are even more loyal to soap opera stories and characters than American audiences are to shows like “Days Of Our Lives”. So the audience is waiting, and the channel is there. Let’s use it to save lives.
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has committed to broadcast a new soap series into both Burma and Thailand. Each episode will work to remove harmful stigmas and misconceptions and provide real information about HIV, mental health, and other key issues of wellbeing. Storylines will always carry a message of safer lifestyles, and healthier choices.
Mae Tao Clinic, in Mae Sot, along the Thai-Burma border, has joined forces with DVB, Radio Free Asia (RFA), Exponent Events and the Migrant Assistance Project on this innovative project. Together, at low cost, we can train and equip local Burmese health workers and videographers to create relevant, culturally appropriate, public health education programs. It’s training that saves lives.
Besides the TV series, smaller, short-form education videos and radio broadcasts are sorely needed to bring important messages to residents and refugees in the Mae Sot region. These projects are first on the list, since the production of smaller programs, distributed by DVD or shown at Mae Tao, will build the skills of local video producers. And while we are shooting public information shorts, we plan a fund-raising video to sustain our project, and help Mae Tao clinic grow and continue its vital mission.
Please join us today. Click on “donate” and be sure to type “TV and Video” in the notes to become a project sponsor. If you have used video production equipment to donate (in exchange for a tax deduction), please contact Michelle Katics at michellekatics@gmail.com.
Project Details:
Kick-off: December 2009 (Need: $5,000)
• First site visit to Mae Sot by US television production advisors, Exponent Events
• Conduct television production training
• Record content for health worker training videos and RFA broadcasts
• Plan television pilot with DVB production staff
Phase I: January – May 2009 (time volunteered by Exponent Events)
• Finalize planning and staffing for television pilot
• Create project’s online presence which will provide updates to stakeholders and donors
• Local staff to distribute content and final copies of training videos, etc. which were recorded in December
Phase II: May/June 2009 (Cost: $12,000)
• Second site visit by US television production advisors
• Taping for television pilot
• Training sessions for local production staff
http://www.burmaborderprojects.org/HIV-Multimedia.html
