"Access to Survival" Wins Nine Awards
"Access to Survival," a compelling documentary about a remarkable public-private partnership to prevent malaria, has received nine awards this year. Among the awards is a Cine Golden Eagle, whose past winners include Steven Spielberg and Ken Burns. Shot in Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, "Access to Survival" tells the story of NetMark, a 10-year project that has fought malaria by building a sustainable market for insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) in seven African countries.
Through partnership with more than 50 international and African companies, NetMark has sold 46.5 million ITNs in countries where it operates, reached more than 200 million Africans with messages about the importance of ITNs and how to use them correctly, and increased the percentage of children under age five who sleep under ITNs by up to 59% in some countries. It has also distributed 2.1 million free or subsidized bednets through a commercial discount voucher program to those who could not afford them, with a particular focus on pregnant women, without damaging the viability of the local private sector.
"Access to Survival" allows us to show the undeniable impact NetMark has had on people’s lives across Africa,” said Willard Shaw, AED vice president and director of the NetMark project. “The film clearly shows the demand for purchasing treated nets and that people will be able to access them long after the project ends.”
To date, the film’s awards are:
- 2009 Aegis Award, Documentary category
- 2009 Cine Golden Eagle, Science and Technology, Motivational category
- 2009 Communicator Awards of Excellence: Charitable/Non-Profit category, Award of Excellence in the Health & Wellness category and an Award of Distinction in Copywriting
- 2009 Telly Award:
Silver medal in Copywriting, Silver medal in Editing, Bronze metal in Use of High Definition, and a Bronze metal in Social Issues
"Access to Survival" can be viewed at http://netmarkafrica.org/Documentary/index.html.
To learn more about NetMark, a USAID-funded project, visit the project’s website at http://www.netmarkafrica.org.
Posted September 2009
Read more about the NetMark project
Contact
Center for Private Sector Health Initiatives
1825 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
+1 (202) 464-3785
pshi@aed.org