/PRNewswire/ - The nonprofit Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership is announcing a breakthrough media-based education initiative, INSIDE STORY: THE SCIENCE OF HIV/AIDS, in sub-Saharan Africa. A feature-length film is the cornerstone of the project and combines the best of fiction and non-fiction storytelling to unravel the mystery of HIV and empower millions with the knowledge they need to make informed health decisions.

Partners, including PEPFAR, Chevron, Discovery Communications and Access Bank, have generously pledged 94% of the funding needed to produce the film. In order to start production on INSIDE STORY in 2011, DCGEP is launching a GlobalGiving online donation campaign on World AIDS Day 2010, allowing individuals to contribute to the project's success. This first-of-a-kind campaign for DCGEP will also receive the support of Discovery Communications' expansive social media networks in the U.S. and beyond. After production is complete, a comprehensive roll-out for the film will include national broadcasts across Africa, theatrical screenings and grassroots efforts from NGO partners, schools and governments.

According to recent estimates by UNAIDS(1), 22.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV in 2009, more than two-thirds of the global population afflicted with the disease. This number has grown over 10% since 2001, proving that there is still a need to reach adults and children and educate them about the causes and effects of HIV/AIDS.

"INSIDE STORY is an important project, addressing a gap that our field has not yet been able to fill," said Ben Plumley, Chief Executive Officer of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation. "Working daily to help the millions of Africans affected by HIV/AIDS, I am excited about DCGEP's efforts and hope individuals and other public and private entities will join me in supporting it."

INSIDE STORY is told through the eyes of Kal, a young man from the Zambian Copperbelt who dreams of a professional soccer career. When he moves to South Africa, begins a promising relationship with his coach's daughter and is on the verge of soccer stardom, he learns that he is HIV positive. The film will demonstrate the science of how HIV works in a personal, practical and memorable way, replacing misunderstanding with facts and demystifying the virus through a realistic animated journey inside the human body.

"Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership is dedicated to using the power of media to transform the lives of people around the world, and INSIDE STORY's combination of compelling characters and narrative combined with informative scientific insights is a revolutionary new approach to fighting HIV/AIDS in the developing world," said Aric Noboa, President, Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership. "Through the support of like-minded partners, and now individuals through our GlobalGiving campaign, we can make a difference in sub-Saharan Africa and our global community."

INSIDE STORY has been developed in conjunction with internationally renowned experts and activists from organizations including Grassroot Soccer, FHI, Johns Hopkins University - Center for Communication Programs, World AIDS Campaign, National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS - Swaziland (NERCHA) and many others. The initiative brings together the educational and creative expertise of Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership and Curious Pictures, a leading South African production company and producer of the highly regarded social dramas Tsha Tsha, Soul City, Heartlines and Hopeville, which won a 2010 Rose d'Or in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Additionally, Discovery Channel Global Education Partnerships will provide facilitator training and guides, educational posters, and DVD materials for use by community and public health organizations, as well as schools throughout Africa, to reinforce INSIDE STORY's messages in both urban and rural communities. The initiative will also include a dedicated website, extending the reach and impact to online audiences.

INSIDE STORY is an extension of Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership's work around the world since 1997. DCGEP has been revolutionizing education in over 200 underserved communities around the world - from Angola to Venezuela, improving teacher effectiveness, increasing student learning, motivation and attendance for over 800,000 students, and reaching two million community members.

To donate to INSIDE STORY, individuals can visit www.globalgiving.org and search for "Inside Story" or click on the link here: www.globalgiving.org/projects/inside-story-the-science-of-hiv-aids/.

About Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership
Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charitable organization that for the past 13 years has been working in under-resourced schools around the world, using the power of television to increase student learning, teacher effectiveness and the community's access to information and involvement in their children's schools. The initiative is locally-managed, and involves a collaborative process of educational video program development that combines contributions of expertise and high-quality documentary footage from Discovery with the needs of educators in countries where DCGEP is active. In addition, DCGEP provides three years of teacher training and capacity building to ensure their ability to maximize the value of educational television as a tool for teaching and learning. For more information, please visit www.thepoweroftv.org.

(1) http://www.unaids.org/documents/20101123_GlobalReport_Annexes1_em.pdf

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