HPB Taps On Influential Channels To Help Public Understands HIV/AIDS Better

To commemorate World AIDS Day this year, the Health Promotion Board has leveraged on popular platforms, such as new media, arts and music, and influential youth opinion leaders to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention and debunk myths and misconceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS.

2 In timely conjunction with World AIDS Day HPB had specially commissioned a World AIDS Day (WAD) special episode with Singapore Idol to urge the Singapore public to learn more about HIV/AIDS - its prevention and transmission, challenge their personal misconceptions and to adopt more proactive and accepting attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS.

Cultivating self-responsibility towards HIV/AIDS online

3 With the blogosphere playing an increasingly important role in the lives of youths and young working adults, HPB has also rallied the support of over 20 local bloggers to spread the message of HIV/ADS prevention, and to engage their readers into contemplating the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives and those around them.

4 Influential local bloggers such as Darryl Kang (http://blog.dk.sg) and Claudia Lim (http://claudia.sg), whose blogs average around 75,000 and 55,000 monthly page-views respectively, are just two of bloggers who will actively blog, tweet and even get people to put on WAD Twibbons on their Twitter and Facebook avatars in support of the WAD 2009.

5 On 1 December 2009 (WAD), all the bloggers will also Make A Stand for HIV/AIDS by immobilising their blogs for a day to symbolise how HIV/AIDS can affect one s everyday life (Refer to Annex I for a screen capture of an immobilised blog).

6 The issues surrounding HIV/AIDS is very real and it is important to keep the public continually engaged on the facts and prevention of HIV/AIDS through various channels and outreach avenues. By adapting our educational messages to suit various target groups, we hope that they would be able to understand the relevancy of HIV/AIDS to them, and be receptive and proactive towards its prevention, says Mr Lam Pin Woon, Chief Executive Officer, HPB.

Support from influential youth opinion leaders

7 Popular local pop-rock duo, Jack & Rai, who had previously participated in HPB's Love Amplified WAD concert last year, have also lent their support for the HIV/AIDS cause through their song Pixelated , and participated in the Singapore Idol and the upcoming Your Life. Your Canvas event at Supperclub Singapore.

8 Pixelated will play a central role in sustaining the HIV/AIDS awareness post-WAD in an interactive and engaging format through HPB s online resource on HIV/AIDS, Love Amplified http://www.loveamp.sg (Refer to Annex II for diagram).

9 The holistic approach and message of abstinence from casual sex, and being faithful to one partner for the general population, while advocating correct, consistent use of condoms, and early detection for at-risk-individuals, echoes our personal beliefs on the issue of HIV/AIDS. Hence, we are more than glad to lend our support to HPB s promotional and outreach efforts for the HIV/AIDS cause, says Jack Ho, of Jack & Rai.

10 Visitors to Love Amplified will be further engaged through a contest with attractive cash prizes, where they can symbolically pledge their support for the HIV/AIDS cause by uploading their own renditions of the song. All contest submissions will be also stitched into a massive mash-up video to commemorate the support given by the public.