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.
Recent WiRED International stories about John Oduor Wanjir and his project using WiRED training materials in Kenya prisons have generated an enormous response of comments on WiRED’s Facebook page, with more than a quarter-million reaches.
Antibiotics are failing. World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan, M.D., said in a September address to the United Nations, “Antimicrobial resistance is a global crisis — a slow-motion tsunami. The situation is bad and getting worse. ”
Over the years people have sustained WiRED by giving time, talent and money. This September WiRED Director Gary Selnow, Ph.D., traveled to Kenya with a 50-pound duffel full of clothes and toys. All these items were generously donated by WiRED’s supporters, volunteers and board members — Friends of WiRED — in response to Dr. Selnow’s request.