The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 400 million dengue infections occur each year globally.

WiRED International’s volunteers, board and staff look forward to a busy and productive 2016. Our plans include the addition of several dozen new modules to the Health Learning Center and updates which will reflect new research and thinking about topics already in the library.

Women in Brazil are being warned to avoid mosquitoes and to postpone pregnancy as cases of microcephaly in newborns edge up to 2,800, according to a recent New York Times story.

There are around two billion children in the world. To safeguard their future, they need to experience healthy physical, socio-economical and cognitive development in order to grow and thrive.

WiRED International would like to wish all the joys of the season to our team of volunteer physicians, medical editors, imagers and technicians along with a host of other volunteer medical experts who develop our health modules. We wish all the best of the season to the many people who have donated to our cause, enabling us to provide cost-free health education programs to people in low-resource regions.

An emerging mosquito-borne illness called Zika is spreading through South America, Africa, the Pacific Islands and elsewhere. In reaction to recent outbreaks, WiRED International just launched a rapid response module on the disease.

WiRED International completed a fruitful and vibrant agenda in 2015 as it marked its 18th anniversary. WiRED’s volunteers, staff and board of directors are proud of a very productive 2015. During the year, WiRED generated its largest number of new and updated health training modules, reached more people around the globe than ever before, and with its partners, ventured into new and challenging environments where low-resource populations have accessed its material in their first-ever exposure to prevention and health care information.

In October 2015 WiRED International launched a community health education initiative honoring the late Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. (See earlier story.) Now WiRED is issuing a request for proposal (RFP) to offer organizations and institutions working in low-resource regions the opportunity to join in a project in honor of the late ambassador, who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of people in underserved countries.

WiRED International is pleased to announce that Elizabeth A. Touma (Bess) has become its most recent Governing Board member.

Today United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for world action in the fight against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. He said, “To break the epidemic and prevent it from rebounding, we must act on all fronts. We need to more than double the number of people on life-changing treatment to reach all 37 million of those living with HIV.”