 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
USAID Information:
External Links:
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. Government Provides $3 Million For South Africa's Public Health Education Channel
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov/
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2004-021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2004
Contact: USAID Press Office
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - The U.S. government announced today that it is investing $3 million (R19 million) towards expanding South Africa's public health education channel. The funding is part of the President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Health Channel is a satellite broadcast channel, which will deliver free education to patients and healthcare workers in clinics and hospitals in South Africa. It has been created through a public private partnership between the Department of Health, Sentech and Mindset Network. The Health Channel is to be publicly launched later this year.
"The HIV/AIDS pandemic is putting the South African public healthcare system under huge strain," said U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Cameron Hume. Many healthcare workers, who work in under-resourced environments, should receive more training on HIV/AIDS, and many patients will benefit from health promotion and education. The U.S. government strongly believes that this investment in health education and training will support the implementation of the National Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment Plan in South Africa. The Health Channel will provide effective support for many government health programs."
Frederick W. Schieck, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was in the country for the announcement. He said that fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic was a US priority: "The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS is the largest commitment ever by a single nation toward an international health initiative. This commitment has resulted in the R19 million investment into the Health Channel - an innovative South African approach to dealing with HIV/AIDS. The United States of America is a strong and committed ally in the fight against AIDS. We are delighted that Johns Hopkins University through its Health Communication Partnership agreement with USAID is pioneering South Africa's Health Channel."
The initial conceptual design was done by the Director Generals of the Departments of Communication and Health. Following a successful piloting of the Health Channel on the Sentech infrastructure into 56 healthcare clinics and hospitals in October 2003, the Department of Health, with its partner Sentech, established a strategic alliance with Mindset Network. Mindset Network is a partnership led by Liberty and Standard Bank Foundations. The Mindset Health Channel aims to be in all 4,000 public healthcare sites in South Africa within five years, serving 97,000 nurses and 36 million South Africans dependent on the public sector. The channel also has potential to be extended across all of Africa. This funding will create the foundation for a sustainable, mass-scale public health intervention, tackling all major health issues.
"We are delighted to receive such generous support from the US Government. This financial boost will enable us to produce and broadcast significant new educational material on HIV and AIDS, in a war against ignorance - a war we cannot afford to lose," said Hylton Appelbaum, Chairman of the Mindset Network.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
Back to Top ^
|
RSS Feed for Recent USAID Press Releases
