Irkutsk AIDS centre wins award for innovative HIV prevention online application

by | Jun 12, 2019 | News | 0 comments

Irkutsk Regional Centre for the Prevention and Control of AIDS and Infectious Diseases became the winner of the Open All-Russia competition held within the All-Russia Forum: “The Nation’s Health – the Basis of Russia’s Prosperity”, which took place in Moscow on 29-31 May 2019. The interactive exhibition with the augmented reаlity project, “Feel Better”, developed by IOC AIDS specialists, tells visitors in simple language about the history of the global HIV pandemic. Moreover, it illustrates the current situation surounding this socially significant disease in the country, addressing the different ways HIV is transmitted and the stigmatization of people living with HIV. It also explains what immunity is and how antiretroviral therapy works. An animated model of the virus is used to demonstrate HIV in its minutest detail and how it attaches to immune cells.

“Within 20 minutes, everyone, even children and adolescents, receive comprehensive information about the problem, how to confront it, and what is already being done to solve it,” commented Yulia Plotnikova, head doctor of the Irkutsk regional AIDS Centre, and also the chief specialist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on HIV infection in the Siberian Federal District. All information is scientifically substantiated and verified to ensure the younger generation of Russians are accurately informed.

The application is free to download. The RF Ministry of Education has promised to assist with the implementation of the educational module across Russia. Two days after the event the project was awarded the Presidential grant for the implementation of the interactive HIV exhibition in schools and colleges in the Baikal regionDoctors hope that innovative educational methods such as these will help further reduce the growth rate of the epidemic.