PAHO News –September 11, 2003
PAHO News is also available on the Web!
http://www.csih.org/synergy/synergy.html
In this issue:
- LATIN AMERICA’S TELENOVELAS ARE AN IDEAL MEDIUM FOR HEALTH MESSAGES
-SAVE OUR SKY: THERE IS A HOLE LOT MORE TO DO FOR OUR CHILDREN
-THE CHILDREN OF COLOMBIA: MANIFESTO FOR A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
-WORLD HEALTH DAY 2003AND HEC RESOURCES ON THE SEAR WEB SITE
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LATIN AMERICA’S TELENOVELAS ARE AN IDEAL MEDIUM FOR HEALTH MESSAGES
Public health experts have discovered that Latin America's popular soap
operas - known as telenovelas - are an ideal vehicle for health and
quality-of-life messages in the Americas and that they can often trigger
significant social change. The latest edition of Perspectives in Health
magazine, published by PAHO, features an article about telenovelas and
health promotion. The report, "Love, Tears, Betrayal ... and Health
Messages," shows evidence of the strong worldwide impact of telenovelas
and their potential as "agents of health."
An early indication of telenovelas' enormous potential came in 1986 when
a character on the Venezuelan-produced show Cristal was diagnosed with
breast cancer. This led to an avalanche of women requesting medical
check-ups, both in Venezuela and Spain, where the show was broadcast. In
2000, Camila, the heroine of the Brazilian telenovela Lazos de Sangre
(Blood Ties) was diagnosed with leukemia. The result was an increase in
registered blood and bone marrow donors. Something similar occurred
during the airing of another Brazilian telenovela, El Clon (The Clone),
which dealt with drug addiction. As the show was being aired, Brazil's
Anti-Drug Society reported an increase in calls from 900 to 2,000 from
January to May 2002.
What is the secret of the power and influence of telenovelas, with which
so many television viewers identify? Many see their own lives reflected
in those of their favorite soap opera stars, an identification that
grows with time. These traits were noted by broadcasting pioneer Miguel
Sabido, who headed the Mexican TV network Televisa in 1975. Over the
next seven years, Sabido produced a series of seven telenovelas using a
unique "edutainment" formula he developed. The shows raised national
awareness about such issues as abandoned street children, gender
equality and sexual responsibility.
According to Perspectives in Health's article, the telenovela is today
recognized as an important mass communications tool. It has succeeded -
without sacrificing its core ability to entertain - in helping people
improve their own lives.
For more information,
http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/Number17_index.htm
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SAVE OUR SKY: THERE IS A HOLE LOT MORE TO DO FOR OUR CHILDREN
September 16 is International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone
Layer and, this year, the theme of the day is "Save Our Sky: There is a
Hole Lot More to Do for Our Children." Advocacy materials for the day
emphasize the need to protect children from the adverse effects of UV
radiation, which is reaching the earth's surface as a result of ozone
layer depletion. Although levels of ozone-depleting substances in the
stratosphere now seem to be at or near their peak and the total amount
of ozone depleting chemicals in the troposphere is continuing to decline
slowly, the ozone layer will remain particularly vulnerable during the
next decade or so. Hence, the international community still faces the
challenge of ensuring full compliance with the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer as adjusted and amended. For
more information on the day and on how you can become involved, see the
site of the Ozone Secretariat at UNEP:
http://www.unep.org/ozone/ozone_day2003/
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THE CHILDREN OF COLOMBIA: MANIFESTO FOR A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
Dr Alvaro Uribe Velez, President of Colombia, signed off on the
"Manifesto for a Healthy Environment" on 7 April, World Health Day 2003.
His signature was indicative of the highest possible level of national
political commitment to the issue Healthy Environments for Children. The
preparation of the Manifesto--which had been carried out with the
participation of more than 3,500 children, teachers, and parents
throughout the country--was an initiative of President Uribe; the
ministries of social protection, the environment, housing and education;
the National Institute of Health; UNICEF; and PAHO/AMRO. To read the
Manifesto (in Spanish), please see:
http://www.col.ops-oms.org/diamundial/2003/manifiesto.asp
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World Health Day 2003 AND HEC RESOURCES ON THE SEAR WEB SITE
Reports on World Health Day 2003 activities and resources for further
HEC advocacy/education are available on the Web site of the WHO Regional
Office for South-east Asia (SEARO). Window on SEAR, Vol. 3 Issue 1, June
2003--located at http://w3.whosea.org/extrelations/vol3-1.htm --includes
a detailed account of select World Health Day 2003 celebrations. To
support ongoing actions, factsheets with key statistics on the impact of
environmental threats to children's health, as well as strategies to
protect children from such threats, can be found at the below links: o -
Unsafe Drinking Water
(http://w3.whosea.org/whd2003/pdf/1unsafe.pdf)
o - Hygiene and Sanitation
(http://w3.whosea.org/whd2003/pdf/2Hygiene.pdf)
o - Air Pollution
(http://w3.whosea.org/whd2003/pdf/3Air%20Pollution.pdf)
o - Vector-Borne Diseases
(http://w3.whosea.org/whd2003/pdf/4VectorBorne.pdf)
o - Chemical Risks
(http://w3.whosea.org/whd2003/pdf/5ChemicalRisks.pdf)
o - Accidents and Violence
(http://w3.whosea.org/whd2003/pdf/6Accidentsand.pdf)
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