January 2002
AIDS Community Health Information Centers Initiated
by Brian Jacobson
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Wired's Kenya project to assist in the fight against AIDS has made a major step forward with the recent installation of
computers in five villages and the completion of the first phase of staff training for each center. Building on a network
established by Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, a leader in the fight against AIDS and the spread of HIV infection,
the project expands the availability of computer resources to village health care workers who have daily needs for up-to-
date AIDS treatment and HIV prevention information. The project, funded by The National Institutes of Health Office of
AIDS Research, is a test pilot to evaluate the effectiveness of computers as a communications resource in the fight
against the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
In response to the staggering statistics on AIDS in Africa, WiRED Executive Director, Dr. Gary Selnow began less than a year
ago exploring the possibility of contributing computer technology for AIDS and HIV communication and education efforts. Dr.
Selnow explains, "The statistics demonstrate a critical need for expanded, more effective, communication resources in AIDS
health care and in campaigns to prevent the continuing spread of HIV infection."
A recent Washington Post study estimates that currently 5,500 people die of AIDS in Africa each day. The study goes on to project
that by 2010 the daily death toll will increase to 13,000 Africans, day after day. Already, 13.2 million orphans have been left
by the AIDS epidemic; by 2010, estimates project 42 million orphans.
Because HIV infection most aggressively reaches the young, sexually active population, the life expectancy in southeastern Africa
has dropped from a 65 to 70 year range to less than 40 years. More than half of the 60 million Africans who have become infected
with HIV in the past 20 years acquired the virus when they were between the ages of 15 and 24. The UN estimates that in sub-Saharan
Africa, over eight million youth now have AIDS.
The WiRED community resource centers provide up-to-date information on an extensive CD-ROM collection compiled by WiRED from the
latest AIDS material available from government institutions, public research groups, and companies involved in AIDS-related
research. The CD collection also includes a comprehensive library of medical conditions, treatments and prevention techniques
for illnesses common to the region. As the coordinators gain experience with the materials and identify new needs, the CDs will
be updated. Village centers with ISP service available will also be able to use the Internet.
The resource centers in the initial five villages each have four computers and five local resource coordinators trained by
WiRED International to serve as the link between the wealth of information available on the computers and the needs of the
local community. The initial training program prepared coordinators to offer service in two ways: they can research the
available data basis for answers needed by the health care workers and they can teach members of the community to perform
their own research.
Professional medical staff, home healthcare workers responsible for the care of family members with AIDS, and young people
looking for HIV/AIDS prevention information will all have access to the resource center. The HIV/AIDS prevention materials
include interactive tutorials targeted towards youth and high-risk groups.
During a recent visit to Kenya to review the installation of the computers and the training programs, Dr. Gary Selnow observed,
"Everyone in Africa is touched by AIDS. In communities where up to 25% of the population is HIV infected, everyone has lost a
family member or a close friend and continues to care for other people suffering from the disease. Many of the coordinators in
the audience were left orphans at a young age. They sensed immediately the importance of having up-to-date facts to use in the
treatment of AIDS and in the ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of HIV infection."
Dr. Selnow and Che Pangborn, a WiRED computer technician based in Zagreb, Croatia, conducted the five-day training program. Forty
students from the five centers and associated facilities, attended the lectures and hands-on practice sessions for basic computer,
internet search, and email skills. The local coordinators for each center are 20 to 30 years old and live in the villages.
The Kenya AIDS community resource center program was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. With the funding,
WiRED will pay for all hardware and software, the initial training program, and the operation of the centers for one year.
During the year, the effectiveness of the program will be measured by independent research conducted by social psychologist,
Professor William Crano of the Claremont Graduate University. After the effectiveness research is completed, the National
Institutes of Health will consider expanding the program in Africa.
Global Strategies web site is www.globalstategies.org
The National Institutes of Health website is www.nih.gov
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