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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2004
HCP's Communication for Healthy Living Project Celebrates
150 Newlywed Couples in Egypt's El Minya
Publicity Event Seeks to Focus Attention on Family Health EL MINYA, Egypt — Close to 150 newlywed couples dressed in wedding gowns and tuxedos with about 9,000 guests attended an event designed to focus attention on family health on September 9 in Minya Governorate Stadium.
Organized by the Communication for Healthy Living (CHL) project, the “Newlywed Celebration” was held under the auspices of the Governor of Minya and the Minister of Health and Population, with the support of the Ministry of Information, the State Information Services.
The Health Communication Partnership (HCP), which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is implementing the family-focused CHL project with local community development associations to improve many health indicators, including pre- and post-natal care, child health, HIV/AIDS, and health services.
 “Over the next few years, you will be making decisions that will affect the rest of your lives: Decisions about everything from the meals you take together, to having and caring for your children,” USAID Associate Director HDD Jane Nandy, told the couples at the event. “It is our goal to help you have the information and support that you need. This information will help you make the best choices for the future health and happiness of your families.”
The event featured celebrity TV personality Tarek El Allam as MC as well as performances by nationally known singers, Essam Karika and Gawaher . In addition, Karima Mokhtar , a celebrity actress and long-time promoter of health and family planning on television, attended the festivities. Significant media coverage carried the event's message throughout North Upper Egypt and beyond as its health purpose was discussed on national TV, radio, and in print prior to and after the event.
 The “Newlywed Celebration” also attracted a variety of corporate sponsors including Procter & Gamble, Vodophone, Toshiba, Enjoy Foods, and Sila Cooking Oil . Twenty-five lucky couples won washing machines provided by Toshiba for providing correct answers in a contest focusing on family health messages. The answers were drawn from the Mabrouk! (Congratulations!) Family Health Booklet given to the couples by CHL. The Mabrouk! Booklet was presented in an elegant frame, which fits the couples' formal wedding portrait taken in the stadium.
“We thank the Ministry of Health and Population as well as USAID for their support,” said the Governor, HE General Hassan Hemeida.
“You are the ‘Couples of the 21 st Century.' You are the future of Egypt , and together with couples from around the world, you are shaping your lives and shaping the world, said USAID's Nandy. “We wish you the greatest health and happiness as you build tomorrow's families.”
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. In addition to the five core partners, HCP works with leading Southern-based health communication organizations as well as global programming partners from the corporate sector, international media, academic institutions, and faith-based organizations. For a full list of HCP partners and collaborators, visit www.hcpartnership.org .
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