DHARAMSHALA: A collaboration between TeachAIDS and the Central Tibetan Administration has resulted in the production of culturally and linguistically appropriate HIV education materials for Tibetans around the world. Released in time for the Tibetan New Year (Losar), these materials were carefully designed to address the sharp increase in new reports of HIV in recent years and the “serious lack of localised HIV education materials available to educate the population” identified by Health Kalon Dr. Tsering Wangchuk. The materials are available online for free and will be distributed to Tibetan schools, universities and health care facilities as early as this month.

The materials feature the universally respected Dr. Tsetan Dorji Sadutsang, personal physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Chief Medical Officer of the prestigious Delek Hospital as a wise doctor; and beloved singer and songwriter Phurbu T. Namgyal as an inquisitive student with many concerns about HIV transmission. During the research and testing phases, both cultural icons were identified as highly influential and deeply respected within the Tibetan community. Despite their intense work and travel schedules, both Dr. Sadutsang and Mr. Namgyal made huge efforts to devote significant time over months of work towards the development and high quality production of these animations.

Dr. Tsetan cited His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s globally renowned kindness as his inspiration for becoming involved with TeachAIDS. He noted, “it’s about a universal responsibility that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has always been talking about and that’s just not about taking care of only yourself, but taking care of everyone else around you, including all living beings, your environment and the entire universe. Be kind to others and help anyone you can.”

Phurbu T. Namgyal echoed these sentiments, reflecting that there has been a “need for social leaders to propel efforts to protect Tibetans from HIV”. Namgyal went on to say that “these education materials will be extremely beneficial for my people, especially those inside Tibet”, and added, “I am so happy to be a part of it!”

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay offered an impassioned Message of Hope to accompany these materials, reflecting on the lessons learned in the 34 years since HIV was identified and reminding Tibetans that “there is no cure for HIV and AIDS but it is preventable. We have learned that the single best way to stop the spread of HIV is through education”.

Health Kalon Dr. Tsering Wangchuk complemented this message with an inspiring Call to Action urging Tibetans to learn to protect themselves and their loved ones and to treat people living with HIV with kindness, respect and dignity. The TeachAIDS materials have also been endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who commended the compassion that guides the development of the HIV education software.

Noting the importance of culturally appropriate, medically accurate and pedagogically grounded health education materials, Dr. Piya Sorcar, CEO and Founder of TeachAIDS, welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on this initiative. “It is critical to stop the spread of HIV before any region becomes a hotspot for this condition. Research shows that our materials are highly effective in empowering people to protect themselves and their loved ones from HIV, and we are delighted to provide these tools to Tibetans around the world”. Dr. Sorcar added that TeachAIDS was overwhelmed by the tremendous support extended by the Tibetan community. “Along with respected politicians, renowned medical personnel and cultural icons, we have received generous assistance from teachers, students, monastery staff and many experts from the Health Department at the Central Tibetan Administration. The development of these materials has truly been a remarkable demonstration of the strength and unity of the Tibetan people”.

The award-winning educational materials are produced by TeachAIDS (http://www.teachaids.org), a nonprofit organization founded at Stanford University. Based on more than five years of research and development at Stanford, the software has been scientifically demonstrated to have the greatest learning effects of any approach to HIV prevention education. TeachAIDS has been recognized as an organization that will “change the world” by MIT Technology Review and its materials are used over 80 countries globally. Despite heavy investment in research and development, TeachAIDS makes all its materials available at no cost to its users.

“The TeachAIDS innovation beautifully balances cultural elements, biological concepts, and user interactivity all of which make it outstanding and evidenced-based educational tool that has been hugely successful throughout the world,” said Dr. Douglas Owens, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University.

About TeachAIDS

TeachAIDS (www.teachaids.org) is a nonprofit social venture that creates breakthrough software solving numerous persistent problems in HIV and AIDS prevention around the world. Used over 80 countries, in partnership with national and international organizations, and incorporating the voices of cultural icons, TeachAIDS provides the most effective HIV educational software to teachers, governments and NGOs around the world – for free. Spun out of Stanford University, TeachAIDS is supported by many organizations, including Barclays, Cigna, Google, UNICEF and Yahoo.