Pop star sings for sexual health causes

OPINION formers, charity workers and journalists gathered last night for a special event to raise awareness of sexual health causes in the UK.

The evening, which was organised by sexual health charity FPA and took place at Saatchi and Saatchi's Pregnant Man pub, included an intimate unplugged set by the pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

The Pregnant Man pub — one of London's most unique venues — is named after one of Saatchi and Saatchi's most famous advertisements, which was devised for the Health Education Council in 1970 in partnership with FPA to promote the use of contraceptives.

The evening was organised by FPA with the support of Durex, which actively works with FPA to improve sexual health and wellbeing across the UK.

Charles Shepherd, Head of Health Promotion at Durex, said: "FPA has a strong track record of helping to improve the nation's sexual health, and we are looking forward to further developing our working relationship as part of our commitment to sexual health promotion.

"Durex and FPA have a strong and natural partnership thanks to their extensive sexual health promotion expertise and experience, and commitment to improving sexual heath. We are confident that this can grow and also that the success of this event will help in our aim of improving the sexual health of the nation."

Durex has been working to support and reward sexual health professionals in the UK through a number of initiatives — including the Durex Catalyst programme and the Durex HCP website.

One of the latest projects that has seen Durex partner with FPA is the Catalyst Excellence FYI sexual health quiz, which was designed by the sexual health team at the University of Staffordshire to test the knowledge of healthcare professionals.

Entrants who answer all the questions correctly will be asked to answer a short tie-breaker, and a panel of judges will then decide — based on these responses — who will win the prize of an FPA trainer for the day.

Julie Bentley, Chief Executive of FPA, said: "The event at the Pregnant Man pub was a great success, and we are hugely grateful to have been able to host the evening in such a unique venue.

"We are delighted that our partnership with Durex goes from strength to strength. We share common aims and common goals around promoting positive sexual health, and we understand that by working together we can achieve a lot more."