Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - November 7, 2002
"We embrace the opportunity The Pfizer Foundation has given us to integrate HIV/AIDS prevention messages into the work that our thriving network of service providers and community-based workers are already doing in Cambodia," stated Dr. Amy E. Pollack, EngenderHealth's President. "Our team of highly experienced Cambodian medical and health professionals are already mobilized to hit the ground running with the vitally important news about condom use and dual protection."
EngenderHealth has been working in Cambodia since 1996 to carry out the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance (RACHA) project, one of the largest health projects in Cambodia committed to improving maternal and child health outcomes. The health literacy initiative will be implemented as a new component of RACHA in three of the seven provinces where the program already works. At the same time as it aims to advance the HIV/AIDS literacy of young men and women aged 15-25, the project will engage formal reproductive health providers, practitioners, and community members in building social acceptance for condom use and address the social norms that make youth -- and young women in particular -- vulnerable to HIV.
"The Pfizer Foundation is committed to a comprehensive approach to combat the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic and is therefore pleased to support EngenderHealth's innovative health promotion activities in Cambodia," stated Sarah Williams, Secretary of the Pfizer Foundation. "This program aimed at reducing the transmission of HIV/AIDS helps fulfill the Pfizer Foundation's mission to increase access to quality health care."
Cambodia currently has one of the worst HIV epidemics in Southeast Asia, with 4 percent of the adult population already infected. Increasingly, many of the new cases of HIV are occurring among women of childbearing age.
EngenderHealth's program will emphasize innovative messages that promote condom use not only for HIV prevention, but for "dual protection" against both pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. The key components of the program include: the implementation of staff and health provider training sessions, group dialogues within the community, the promotion of health contests, the development of comedy dramas using traditional forms of community humor, and the distribution of condoms through providers and health promoters. It is anticipated that 5,000 young men and women will be reached through these health literacy activities in 30 villages.
Founded in 1943, EngenderHealth (http://www.engenderhealth.org) is a nonprofit organization that has been working internationally for more than 30 years to support and strengthen reproductive health services for women and men worldwide. Since its inception, its work has improved the health and lives of more than 100 million individuals in 90 countries.
The Pfizer Foundation, an independent charitable organization established by Pfizer Inc, is committed to a comprehensive approach to combat the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic. This year, the Foundation launched the International HIV/AIDS Health Literacy Grants program (http://www.pfizerhealthliteracy.com) to complement Pfizer Inc's donation of Diflucan to treat opportunistic infections related to HIV/AIDS. The goal of the program is to strengthen existing health promotion programs and/or develop new programs to improve patients' and communities' understanding of their health, self-management of health, treatment adherence, and quality of life.
Contacts: Carrie Svingen, EngenderHealth 212-561-8538 csvingen@engenderhealth.org
Judy Brooks, Pfizer 212-573-7897 judy.brooks@pfizer.com
SOURCE EngenderHealth
Web Site: http://www.engenderhealth.org
http://www.pfizerhealthliteracy.com
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