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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2001
AIDS Resource Center to be Created in Ethiopia by Johns Hopkins
Center for Communication Programs with CDC Support
Great Need in Ethiopia for Up-To-Date Information on HIV/AIDS
BALTIMORE—A new resource center with accurate and up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS will be established by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) in Ethiopia, a country that has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates. The new center is made possible through a $300,000 cooperative agreement between JHU/CCP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC is responsible for HIV/AIDS prevention in the United States and also assists other countries in developing, implementing and evaluating HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs. CDC directs the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN), a national clearinghouse for HIV/AIDS information.
The Ethiopia AIDS Resource Center—to be centrally located in the capital city of Addis Ababa—will provide journalists, healthcare workers, government officials and HIV/AIDS organizations with the latest information and materials on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis. The center plans to include print and web-based resources, and support a local AIDS telephone hotline that provides HIV/AIDS information and counseling services.
“Ethiopia has been devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and there's a crying need for accurate and accessible information,” said Tadesse Wuhib, MD, MPH, Director for CDC-Ethiopia. “Right now, there's a severely limited supply of quality materials and current knowledge available for those trying to stop this disease.”
According to the CDC, Ethiopia has just one percent of the world's population, but nine percent of the worldwide cases of HIV/AIDS. The disease has orphaned more than 700,000 Ethiopian children and more than a million people have died due to AIDS.
In addition to housing a clearinghouse of already available HIV/AIDS prevention materials, the new resource center will develop new high-quality print and audiovisual materials specifically for Ethiopia. The center will also provide training and source material for Ethiopian journalists to enhance their reporting on the epidemic.
“Our goal is for this center to serve as a hub for everyone working in Ethiopia to fight HIV/AIDS,” said Wuhib. “Through this center, we hope to network, coordinate and collaborate with each other to improve and expand our various activities.”
For example, the decision on where to house the new resource center will be made after consulting with government officials and other HIV/AIDS organizations.
JHU/CCP is a pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based communication for behavior change and health promotion that has helped transform the theory and practice of public health communications. With representatives in more than 30 countries, JHU/CCP has been a leader in the development of projects based on systematic needs assessments and clear strategies for positioning and presenting the benefits of health interventions to appropriate audiences.
For more information contact: Kim Martin at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA. Tel: 410 659-6140; Fax: 410 659-6266 e-mail: press@jhuccp.org. WEB SITE: http://www.jhuccp.org PRESS ROOM: http://www.jhuccp.org/pressroom
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