 |
|||||||||||
|
India: Gere Launches Clinic Campaign HYDERABAD, India, November 1, 2005 — Actor Richard Gere launched a mass media campaign promoting PSI/India's Key Clinics Network as the first choice for men seeking treatment for sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) during a visit to one of the clinics here. "We should provide an environment where people can openly discuss and ask questions about STIs and AIDS," said Gere after the visit. "Using a condom is not a big deal. Everyone should use them." Key Clinics, part of the Avahan HIV/AIDS prevention initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a franchised network of clinics dedicated to treating STIs. PSI trains qualified physicians to treat STIs through syndromic management, condom promotion and counseling. There are now more than 700 clinics spread across 38 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The campaign promotes Key Clinics as a place where men can find confidential treatment for STIs. It includes a series of television commercials and street theatre performances that educate people about the symptoms of STIs and dispel myths about their causes, while encouraging individuals to seek treatment from qualified doctors. After the performances, interpersonal communicators pass out referral cards to Key Clinics. Gere attended one of PSI's street theatre performances after visiting the clinic and jumped right into the action, dancing along with the drummers. Gere was in India to invite the stars of South India's film industry to join in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Heroes Project, managed by the Richard Gere Foundation, produced a star studded evening during which film stars such as Chiranjeevi and Kamal Hassan spoke on the need for awareness, condom use and stigma reduction. "Mr. Gere's visit generated exactly the right positive media attention
we needed to launch our national campaign," said Ram Ganeshan,
PSI/India communications director. This was Gere's second visit to PSI/India's
programs: In 2003, he visited Operation Lighthouse, a program targeting
commercial sex workers and their clients in 12 port cities, in Mumbai. — Meg Galas, PSI/India
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
