Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common heart disease in children and young adults in developing countries, including Kenya. As a preventable disease, its occurrence may be significantly reduced by educating the community on preventive measures.

WiRED International completed a third trip to Peru—this time to a different, more remote part of the Amazon headwaters, 2,000 miles from the Atlantic ocean—to evaluate the region’s need for medical training and information.

In our first venture into Southwestern Asia, WiRED, in coordination with Armenia Caritas, has just initiated plans for a country-wide health education program in Armenia. Launch of this project will involve six key towns in this history-rich country, once a part of the former Soviet Union.

This e-library of medical and health information modules empowers physicians and nurses, patients, community health workers and ordinary people to address the prevention and treatment of both infectious and non-communicable disease.

Armenia has survived earthquakes, war and genocide. Today, poverty and the lack of reliable medical information are creating a healthcare crisis for the people of this Eurasian country.

WiRED International has received a significant two-year grant from the Medtronic Foundation as seed money to launch the Center for the Development and Distribution of NCD (Non-Communicable Disease) Education Programs.

All of us at WiRED would like to wish happy holidays to the many people who have become part of our family over the years: doctors and nurses, community health workers, and ordinary people who have used our training materials to improve their knowledge of medicine and community health.

WiRED is pleased to announce that retired Vice Admiral Adam M. Robinson, M.D., has joined our Governing Board. Dr. Robinson was the 36th Surgeon General of the United States Navy (2007-2011). “As a physician, I have devoted myself to helping people in need,” he said. “We are here on this earth to help one another.”

As WiRED looks forward to a busy new year, it seems a good time to reflect on our work in 2012 and share some plans for exciting new projects that will expand our reach in war-torn and developing communities worldwide.

Three new Community Health Information (CHI) centers are now up and running in Quilalí and Chinandega, Nicaragua, and Marcovia, Honduras. Upgraded CHI libraries are also installed in Kisumu, Kenya.