Digital Pulse - Ch 3 - Sec 2 - The Massive Effort Campaign

Development Issues: HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, G8 Compliance, Health.

Programme Summary

Established in September 2001, The Massive Effort Campaign is a global movement that seeks to reduce the incidence of diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria among poor people. The campaign's goal is to advocate for and communicate best practices to stimulate social and political change. To that end, the network focuses its activities in three areas:

• Mobilizing healthy behaviour
• Global advocacy
• Partnership building

Which embody the Campaigns core values:

• Add value by supporting the work of partners
• Encourage creativity and innovation
• Create markets for health, putting private sector partnerships into action
• Use the most effective means available for social change
• Measure success by achieving results for those living in poverty

In addition to a board of directors and group of founding members representing the private sector and NGO community, The Massive Effort team functions as a network with a small core group of professional staff.

Summary of ICT Initiatives

The Massive Effort supports networks of existing organisations by providing strategic information, best practices, prototype messages, opportunities for collaboration and co-ordination. The website that facilitates this exchange of information is: Massive Effort site. The organization has several of its own campaigns, one of the most prominent being efforts to improve G8 compliance with their own commitments to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Access to a variety of campaign messages and materials on this issue are available through the website.Other information about online and real-world events is organized around major global and regional tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS days and initiatives (like World TB Day, Drop the Malaria Tax Campaign, International Conference on AIDS, and World AIDS Day). The purpose of this strategy is to provide a platform for activists, affected individuals, and concerned citizens around the world to communicate to others what it is like to live with these diseases. Pictures are provided online. The events page includes a calendar of events on tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV, as well as conferences and training courses on advocacy, partnership building, corporate social responsibility, social marketing and the promotion of healthy behaviour. When possible, photos of events are included along with reports. Those who participate in an event and feel that it may be of interest to the Massive Effort community are encouraged to send digital pictures and a report to event@MassiveEffort.org.

Links are also provided to a host of other websites dealing with mobilization, prevention and education strategies from a variety of perspectives and standpoints. The website helps to act as a bridge between the conservative and more radical sides of the global effort to combat these diseases.

Observations

Massive Effort is a global non-profit organisation. In the context of statistics indicating what the organisation sees as injustices -- i.e., more than ten million people die every year for lack of effective medicine and supplies costing $10 or less – the organisation hopes that its efforts will result in the reduction by half of TB and malaria deaths, the reduction by 25% of HIV infections, and the saving of lives that might have otherwise been lost because of childhood, maternal, and perinatal diseases and conditions.

Partners: BBC World Service Trust, Catholic Health Association of India, Christian Connections for International Health, City of Winterthur, Double Incentive Project, ESKOM, Global Health Council, Health & Development Networks, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, International Union Against TB & Lung Disease, KNCV (Royal Netherlands TB Association), Malaria Foundation International, Medvantis Medical Services GmbH, National Centre for Advocacy Studies, RESULTS, INT., TB Alert, United Nations Association of the US, United Nations Staff College Winterthur Health Forum Association, Winterthur Insurance, World Health Organisation, World Vision International Hope Initiative.

Source: The Massive Effort Campaign website.

For More Information Contact:

info@MassiveEffort.org