Events Worldwide
Stop TB in 2003 World Cup Cricket: "Hit TB for a 6!"
The Stop TB Partnership is set to launch a Stop TB message campaign aimed at audiences of the 2003 World Cup Cricket, which will be hosted by South Africa and held from February 8 - March 23. Kenya and Zimbabwe will also serve as venues for first-round matches. The campaign is being organized by the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat and Meropa Communications, a South African PR firm, with support from the National TB Programmes of India and South Africa.Called "Hit TB for a 6!", the campaign will involve television Public Service Announcements (PSAs) by leading cricketers, a series of PSAs aired by dozens of community radio stations covering the match play, wearing of Stop TB pins and other paraphernalia by tournament participants, discussion of Stop TB messages by radio and TV commentators, and numerous other activities. The campaign will concentrate on three basic messages: TB is curable, the cure is called DOTS, and the treatment is free at public health centers -- so if you have symptoms of the disease, get tested now.
This year's tournament offers a near-perfect audience for such a campaign, with six participating high-TB burden countries (Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe) as well as teams representing three main TB donors (Canada, England and The Netherlands). In the sub-Continent especially -- where a third of all global TB cases are found -- cricket is hugely popular and public attention will be riveted to the media coverage of the event.
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