BET Networks' Award-Winning Rap-It-Up HIV/AIDS Campaign Partners With City of Baton Rouge to Host a Women's Health Conference On Tuesday, August 21

BET Networks' Award-Winning Rap-It-Up HIV/AIDS Campaign Partners With City of Baton Rouge to Host a Women's Health Conference On Tuesday, August 21

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BET Networks' renowned national HIV/AIDS public awareness initiative, Rap-It-Up, partners with the Office of the Mayor's HIV/AIDS Task Force of Baton Rouge for a Rap-It-Up Women's Health Conference. The goal of the event is to raise HIV/AIDS awareness, as well as discuss and share vital information to the public about HIV prevention.

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The Rap-It-Up Women's Health Conference will be held on Tuesday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Baton Rouge River Center Exhibition Hall located on 275 S. River Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802. The health conference will be moderated by WVON radio personality and author Sharon K. McGhee, and will include conference panelists: R&B artist Lil Mo, motivational speaker Kemba Smith, AIDS Activists Denise Stokes and Dr. Timothy McNeil, Sr. among other local health educators.

BET Networks' Rap-It-Up Campaign strives to educate young adults about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in the Black community, and to also encourage and promote a positive and healthy lifestyle. Disturbing statistics presently rank the state of Louisiana twelfth among fifteen states with the most African Americans estimated to be living with AIDS, and ranks the state third among the fifteen states accounting for most new AIDS cases among African Americans according to a June 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation study.

Unfortunately, Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and overall, Blacks account for the most AIDS diagnoses, people estimated to be living with AIDS, and HIV-related deaths than any other racial group in the United States. Presently, African-American women account for 67 percent of new AIDS cases among women and although Black teens (ages 13 - 19) represent only 15 percent of the teen population, they accounted for 66 percent of newly-reported AIDS cases in 2003.

To date, BET's Rap-It-Up Campaign has tested over 12,000 people nationwide for HIV infection; managed over 1.1 million calls to the Rap-It-Up toll-free hotline; hosted community teen forums for over 10,000 youth in over 33 U.S. cities; distributed over 400,000 sexual health information guides; and reached millions of viewers via HIV-related programming on the BET Network, including award-winning news specials, documentaries and public service announcements.

ABOUT RAP-IT-UP

Since 1998, the Kaiser Family Foundation and BET: Black Entertainment Television have partnered on a extensive public education campaign to inform young people about sexual health issues, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). The partnership includes special programming, public service advertisements (PSAs), online content on bet.com, and a free resource and referral service.

In 2000, the campaign launched a grassroots initiative to complement the on-air and online components of Rap-It-Up. Program elements include teen forums, mobile HIV testing events, and middle and high school curricula about HIV/AIDS. The campaign has received numerous awards, including 11 Cable Positive POP Awards, a 2005 NAACP Image Award Nomination for "Walking on Sunshine", the 2002 CTPAA Joel Berger Award, and the 2002 Academy of Television Arts & Science TV Cares "Ribbon of Hope" Award. Additionally, the campaign has received 3 EMMY nominations for Best National Public Service Announcements (2002/2003, 2003/2004, and 2004/2005).

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) , is the leading provider of media and entertainment for African Americans and consumers of Black culture on a global basis. The primary BET cable network reaches more than 84 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel, and BET Hip-Hop - are brands that combine to serve a broader and more diverse audience than the core network. BET.com is the number one internet destination for the target audiences. BET Mobile delivers music, gaming, and video content to the target audiences on wireless devices across virtually all service providers. BET Event Productions is a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe. BET International delivers BET content to the consumers of Black culture around the world. BET Networks inspires its audiences to make a difference in their lives and communities with a series of impactful pro-social initiatives under the Touch BET umbrella.

    Media Contact: Lyntina Townsend, 202/608-2745                   Lyntina.Townsend@bet.net     www.BET.com/PR  

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Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Lyntina Townsend of BET Networks, +1-202-608-2745,
Lyntina.Townsend@bet.net

Web site: http://www.bet.com/
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NOTE TO EDITORS: Contact Lyntina Townsend at telephone numbers (202) 608-2745, (202) 276-8830 or email Lyntina.Townsend@bet.net to request onsite media access and interview-photo opps with BET Rap-It-Up staff, talent and event sponsors

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Profile: International Entertainment