PBS series to focus on child health in developing world

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April 2005

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PBS series to focus on child health in developing world
A unique outreach campaign hopes to benefit children in the developing world, those most vulnerable to preventable yet deadly diseases. The multimedia project—Rx for Survival—A Global Health Challenge—will be a joint effort, including WGBH Boston, Vulcan Productions, Time magazine, and The Penguin Press, meant to inform Americans about key issues in global health.

Rx for Survival also brings together international humanitarian organizations including Save the Children, CARE, UNICEF, the Global Health Council, and corporate, youth enrichment, public health, faith-based and nonprofit organizations, to respond specifically to the pressing need to increase resources for child survival. In June, this group will launch the "Rx for Child Survival" campaign, encouraging Americans to help give children in developing countries a fighting chance to make it to their fifth birthday—a key milestone for the survival of children in the developing world.

“Save the Children, CARE and UNICEF are three of the most respected humanitarian organizations in the world, empowering people in the poorest countries to improve their health in a sustainable way,” said Nils Daulaire, president and CEO of the Global Health Council, the largest membership alliance focused on global health and an Rx for Survival project advisor. “These organizations are combining their unique capabilities on behalf of child survival, setting an example for all of us to work together on global health solutions as the need grows larger and increasingly personal.”

This extensive media coverage for Rx for Survival will uniquely focus Americans’ attention on global health through a series of special reports this fall. Funding for the project is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Merck Company Foundation.

“The death toll from malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases rarely makes headlines, even though each year more people die from these causes than from disasters and wars,” said Paula Apsell, senior executive producer for the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit. “Through the Rx for Survival multimedia partners alone, we have an opportunity to reach more than 100 million Americans, dramatically raising awareness of some of these critical but under-reported health challenges.”

The cornerstone of the project is a six-hour, primetime PBS television series filmed in more than 20 countries around the world, including the United States. Co-produced by the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit and Vulcan Productions, the series highlights public health breakthroughs and interventions that have more than doubled life expectancy in developed countries within the past century. The series also explores how lack of access to these basic interventions leaves many impoverished countries plagued by preventable diseases. As well, the series looks at the effort to deliver vaccines and medicines where they are most needed. Rx for Survival airs November 1-3 at 9 p.m. EST on PBS.

“This series is compelling because it puts a human face on global health, telling powerful stories of public health heroes and of ordinary people who suffer from preventable illnesses. At the same time, it demonstrates that solutions are within our reach,” said Richard Hutton, vice president of media development at Vulcan Productions. “Rx for Survival will take global health concerns right into the living rooms and hearts of Americans, inspiring them to join us in making this issue both a personal and a national priority.”

As part of the multimedia event, TIME magazine will publish a special cover issue on global health on October 31. That same week, TIME will hold a Global Health Summit in New York City , bringing together medical experts, politicians and business leaders to discuss new ways to combat illnesses like AIDS, malaria, TB, malnutrition and cholera. In addition, PBS will host a Web site that will deepen educational opportunities for viewers and the public, provide online materials for classroom use, and link to further resources on global public health.

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