A medical trial led by the World Health Organization (WHO) has resulted in an effective Ebola vaccine. In the trial the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine protected all 5,837 recipients in Guinea who received it; whereas 23 people who did not take the vaccine contracted Ebola. The vaccine is now awaiting approval for wider use.
The WiRED International team chalked up a number of accomplishments in 2016 to advance global health education, as we prepared for the organization’s 20th anniversary. WiRED provided new and updated modules on some of the planet’s most threatening illnesses.
Daniel Odhiambo Ogolollo is a 16-year-old Kenyan whose favorite game is soccer and whose dream is to be an accountant. Since 2013 he has been visiting the KUAP-Pandipieri Community Health Education Center in Kisumu, a city on the edge of Lake Victoria in northwest Kenya. Along with thousands of people in and around Kisumu who visit the center — a resource provided without cost — Daniel learns about health issues from WiRED International’s health education modules.
National Influenza Vaccination Week spotlights the importance of influenza (flu) vaccination. The flu can cause severe illness or death and can strike people at any age. Upwards of a half-million people die each year from the flu, and residents in underserved areas of the world are particularly vulnerable.
WiRED-Armenia recently organized a series of presentations in Sisyan, Armenia, where it presented training sessions on a variety of topics—including diabetes, dental hygiene and quitting smoking—and, in the same session, provided on-the-spot screening for high blood pressure and diabetes.
December 1 is World AIDS Day. This year the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new guidelines for self-testing. Despite real progress in stopping the AIDS epidemic, “Millions of people with HIV are still missing out on life-saving treatment, which can also prevent HIV transmission to others,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General.
This year, WiRED International celebrated its 19th anniversary of bringing life-saving medical and health information at no charge to people in underserved communities around the world.
The history of poliomyelitis, or polio, proves the life-saving value of vaccination. Throughout the first half of the 20th century polio paralyzed hundreds of thousands of people, mostly children. Today polio has been 99% eradicated, but that last 1% remains a challenge.
WiRED International’s Certificate Program continues to attract community members in Kisumu, Kenya. Recently, 62 people earned certificates for completing modules from WiRED’s Health Learning Center of more than 380 topics. Among the more popular modules are HIV/AIDS Basic Information and Treatment, Malaria, Malaria for Health Workers, Family Planning, STIs and Asthma.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the world’s number one killer, causes the deaths of 17.5 million people each year. In response, WiRED International updated its Heart Diseases Module, a comprehensive educational course for general audiences.