Ethiopia is at a pivotal moment in its efforts to improve the health status of its people and move the country into a new phase of social and economic development. The country’s massive Health Extension Program (HEP) program has placed over 34,000 community health workers in 14,000 health posts in less than 8 years. Now, [...]
Initiated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Regional Office for Southern Africa and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2009, the Ripfumelo (“believe” in xiTsonga language) program is designed to reduce HIV vulnerability among farm workers in South Africa’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga [...]
One of the leading programs with interest in the way HIV/AIDS is affecting the environment and natural resource management (NRM) activities is the USAID’s Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG). ABCG, as a result, has initiated a number of communication strategies to combat the negative impact of HIV/AIDS on the environment. On this 2011 World’s AIDS [...]
The information and technology (ICT) sector can play a significant role in addressing socio-economic challenges faced by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Dr. Joseph Okpaku, President and CEO of Telecom Africa Corporation, calls for a “bold, innovative and comprehensive programme to provide skills development and online employment for HIV/AIDS patients and their families.” The network [...]
Responding to humanitarian emergencies poses a complex set of challenges that is exacerbated in areas where high rates of HIV/AIDS exist. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS hovers around 33 million and the vast majority live in sub-Saharan Africa, bringing to the forefront the complex interactions between HIV/AIDS, food security, livelihoods, and humanitarian action. [...]
CrowdOutAIDS, the online crowdsourcing project that engages young people in developing a UNAIDS strategy on youth and HIV, has wrapped up its fifth week. The project launched in October 2011 and will run for two months, with the final crowdsourced strategy to be produced in January. Crowdsourcing is a technique used to quickly engage large [...]
Argusoft, a Fremont, CA start-up that’s combines video, instant messaging and Internet telephony in a platform for “e-health” programs in the developing world, is ready to implement a mobile phone application that will enable field workers to register HIV-positive mothers and provide regular updates on their care. The application, called mAID, runs on any java-enabled [...]
As South Sudan prepares for independence, the celebrations will be tempered by the grim reality that awaits them. The nation is plagued by numerous health burdens due to decades of civil war resulting in a lack of trained health workers and poor infrastructure, and inadequate health and education systems. One such burden is HIV/AIDS. Dr. [...]
Text to Change (TTC), an mHealth non-profit organization based in the Netherlands, announced earlier this month that they will receive a €2.7 million grant to expand its services. TTC provides an SMS-based educational service to improve the health of citizens in eight countries in Africa and one in South America. Already a big contributor in [...]
A Peace Corps Volunteer harnesses the power of text messaging for good health Written by by Shannon Cummings In a few short years, messaging (also called “SMS” for Short Message Service), has seemingly replaced phone conversations, letter writing and the traditional two cans attached by a long string as the primary form of communication for young [...]
