Video Game Teaches Kenyan Teens HIV Prevention

PlusNews/IRIN examines a multi-player PC video game that teaches Kenyan teens how to avoid becoming infected with HIV. “Pamoja Mtaani” — Swahili for “Together in the Hood” — hones in “on five key behaviours that can reduce HIV infections among youth: delaying the onset of sexual activity, abstinence, avoiding multiple sex partners, correct and consistent condom use, and uptake of voluntary counselling and testing services,” the news service writes.  It was developed by Warner Bros. Entertainment in partnership with PEPFAR, according to PlusNews/IRIN (7/30).

Health Officials In China Worry Abortion Statistics Reflect Gaps In Sex Education

According to statistics recently released by Chinese health officials, “more than 13 million abortions are performed each year in China, far more than any other country in the world,” the New York Times reports (McDonald, 7/30). Officials attribute the country’s high abortion rate to a lack of sex education and an increase in the number of sexually active young people, Reuters/Washington Post reports (7/30). “A survey done by 411 Hospital of PLA (People’s Liberation Army) in Shanghai, for example, found that less than 30 percent of callers to a hotline knew how to avoid pregnancy, and only 17 percent were aware of venereal diseases. More than 70 percent said they did not know sexual transmission is the major contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDS,” China Daily reports (Juan and Yanfeng, 7/30).

Gates Foundation Gives $41M To Concern Worldwide U.S. To Overcome Barriers To Maternal, Child Health

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $41 million to Concern Worldwide U.S. for an “initiative to identify new ways of improving essential healthcare in Africa and South Asia,” the U.K. Press Association reports. The organization will also “field-test bold and inventive ways to overcome barriers to delivering proven maternal, newborn and child health solutions in six countries” (7/28). According to Irish Independent, Tom Arnold, CEO of Concern Worldwide U.S., said, “We expect some more experimental stuff to come up. There will be a degree of prudent risk-taking but we believe there are projects that need to be tried out” (Bray, 7/29). The initiative will launch in Malawi, India, and Sierra Leone (Concern Worldwide U.S. release, 7/28).