PSI and Link TV Premiere Half-Hour Documentary Showcasing Innovative Global HIV Prevention Programs

PSI Ambassador and Actor Debra Messing Narrates TV & Online Special ViewChange: HIV Prevention – Looking Back and Moving Forward

Streaming on www.psi.org and www.ViewChange.org beginning Wednesday, July 27, broadcast on Link TV on Friday, July 29

SAN FRANCISCO, July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Innovative HIV prevention programs – including a peer education program from hair stylists in Zimbabwe and a media campaign promoting male circumcision in Africa – are contributing to a decrease in the global rate of new HIV infections 30 years after the first cases of HIV were confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  These and other stories of effective programs on the ground in developing nations are showcased in a new TV documentary, ViewChange:  HIV Prevention – Looking Back and Moving Forward, that premiered online today from independent non-profit broadcaster Link TV's ViewChange project and international global health organization PSI (Population Services International).  Debra Messing, actor and PSI ambassador, narrates the half-hour documentary, which also airs on Link TV on Friday, July 29, with a repeat broadcast on Tuesday, August 2.  

The show, which was produced to commemorate a key milestone in the HIV epidemic, showcases some of the effective prevention programs that are contributing to progress in the global rate of new HIV infections; according to UNAIDS' "AIDS at 30: Nations at a Crossroads" report, new HIV infections declined by 25 percent between 2001 and 2009, although more than 30 million people have died of AIDS-related causes over the last three decades.  UNAIDS credits both treatment and prevention to global progress in HIV.  

PSI's work in HIV prevention, which began in 1988, includes programs in more than 60 countries around the world.   In 2010, PSI estimates that its programs directly prevented 186,143 new HIV infections.

The half-hour documentary special is available for viewing and downloading online at www.psi.org and www.ViewChange.org, and it will broadcast on Link TV on Friday, July 29 (7 p.m. EDT) and again on Tuesday, August 2 (11 p.m. EDT) on DIRECTV Channel 375 and Dish Network Channel 9410.

The Link TV/PSI special is part of Link TV's ViewChange.org, a new multimedia website that brings together powerful, evidence-based videos that demonstrate progress in global development and the UN Millennium Development Goals, along with the latest news and action opportunities for users.  ViewChange.org is working with non-profit organizations, film distributors and individual filmmakers to combine at one site documentaries, news reports and viewer-generated films of varying length and style.  With the help of next-generation semantic Web technology, videos are linked directly with the latest news and most recent social actions so that users can search for specific topics, watch real stories from around the world, learn the latest news (from more than 12,000 news sources around the world) and take action.   The site also features long-form films including the Academy Award©-winning short, Smile Pinki, and the feature documentary Favela Rising.

View online beginning Wednesday, July 27, 2011:  
www.psi.org or www.ViewChange.org

Watch on Link TV Friday, July 29, 2011, at 7 p.m. EDT, 4 p.m. PDT
or Tuesday, August 2, at 11 p.m. EDT, 8 p.m. PDT
DIRECTV Channel 375 | DISH Network Channel 9410

ABOUT PSI

PSI is a leading global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV, TB, reproductive health and non-communicable diseases. Working in partnership within the public and private sectors, and harnessing the power of markets, PSI provides life-saving products, clinical services and behavior change communications that empower the world's most vulnerable populations to lead healthier lives. Website: psi.org; Blog: psihealthylives.com; Twitter: twitter.com/PSIHealthyLives

ABOUT LINK MEDIA & LINK TV

Link Media uses media and the power of stories to engage, inform and inspire its audiences to participate in transformational, sustainable change on issues of global importance.  Founded in 1999, Link Media operates the Link TV national network and the websites LinkTV.org and ViewChange.org.  An independent and non-commercial media company, Link Media acquires, produces and delivers global news, documentaries and cultural programming over three distribution channels:  broadcast, web and handheld devices.  Link Media presents diverse perspectives on critical global issues that are underserved by conventional media, and gives voice to points of view that would otherwise go unheard.

A pioneer in news and current affairs programming, Link TV has been recognized for its original news programs including the Peabody Award-winning daily broadcast Mosaic: News from the Middle East, which monitors and airs unedited selections of news reports from more than 43 Middle-Eastern broadcasters.  Link TV also offers original, innovative participatory programs promoting national and global citizen action.  Much of Link's programming is not available anywhere else on American television.

Link TV is available as basic service on DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410, reaching more than 33 million U.S. households.  Select Link TV programming also airs on 220 cable outlets, including in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, reaching an additional 20 million homes.  Link also streams much of its content online at LinkTV.org.  For complete background information, program schedule, and Internet streaming, go to LinkTV.org.

Follow on Twitter @viewchange and @linktv, and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LinkTV and www.Facebook.com/ViewChange.

SOURCE Population Services International