Washington Wizards, PAHO Team Up for Health

The Washington Wizards basketball team is partnering with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in a series of special game nights that take important health messages to new audiences.

The partnership uses basketball as a platform to promote healthy living habits and preventive practices in the Washington-area community. The themes of the partnership so far include healthy environments for children, youth violence prevention, and healthy mothers and children. Two game nights took place in December and February, and a third is scheduled for April 9.

PAHO has produced public service announcements (PSAs) featuring Wizards players, which are shown in the arena and broadcast on television. Health messages appear on the MCI Center's giant screens, and lobby exhibits offer health information.

In a PSA for "Healthy Environments for Children" game night—organized with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—Wizards guard Steve Blake tells viewers, "Your home and your neighborhood are your environment, too." Juan Dixon, another guard, tells parents, "Please don't smoke around your kids," and forward Jarvis Hayes adds, "Keep pesticides and chemicals out of reach." The announcement ends with center Etan Thomas telling viewers, "The ball is in your court. Make it happen!"

A Feb. 9 game night focused on preventing youth violence and received support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, and the Wizards.

CDC Director Julie Gerberding issued a special communiqué for the event. "We simply cannot allow violence to continue to steal our most valuable resource—our children," she said. "We continue to learn what works to help stop violence, like helping our children learn to talk through their feelings as well as by learning to respect themselves and others. Partnerships, like the one CDC is joining with the Washington Wizards and the Pan-American Health Organization, will go a long way to help all our children realize their dream of growing up in a safe and healthy world."

Special PSAs for "Youth Violence Awareness Night" featured Wizards team members, local youth, and U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona. They were shown during the game at the MCI Center in Washington and on television.

A third game night is scheduled for April 9 and will focus on "Healthy Mothers and Children," the theme for World Health Day 2005. It will be part of a worldwide effort to reduce the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes and the number of children who die during their first month of life.

The Washington Wizards are part of the National Basketball Association, the major basketball league in the United States.