FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2005

HCP Introduces New E-Forum for Country-based Partners

BALTIMORE — The Health Communication Partnership (HCP) has launched a new interactive E-Forum based on HCP's Partners in Action, a series of case studies about HCP's country-based partners.

Partners in Action documents how those partners became successful and sustainable organizations, as well as the role that health communication played in their success. Those interested in participating in this new electronic community can log on through HCP's website or visit the Partners In Action page. Participants can comment on the case studies, suggest ideas for the organization or additional case studies, or provide general feedback about the site and series.

The E-Forum's first case study is the Turkish Family Health and Planning Foundation (TAPF). Written by TAPF's executive director Yasar Yaser, this case study offers lessons, inspiration, and ideas for other organizations. TAPF's success is notable because it began promoting family planning and reproductive health in the 1980s in largely Muslim Turkey when such issues were considered taboo.

In the next few weeks, the E-Forum will invite participants to comment on a new case study focusing on Peru 's Movimiento Manual Ramos, an organization that advocates for women's rights and gender equity.

Supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, HCP is a global communication initiative based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Communication Programs in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, Save the Children, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Tulane University 's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

To access the new E-Forum or to find out more about HCP, please visit www.hcpartnership.org.