The state of Karnataka to distribute 30,000 copies of the TeachAids animations
“KSAPS appreciates the effort put by the foundation [TeachAids] to bring out a simple yet high class IEC material on HIV awareness. The short film, once developed for Karnataka would be very useful in generating HIV awareness at all levels, including in schools across the state.” – Manoj Kumar Tripathi, Project Director, Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society
The Indian state of Karnataka (population ~60MM) joins several others, including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, in its approval of the TeachAids materials. The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) will integrate the TeachAids materials as part of their overall curriculum. KSAPS has committed to distribute 30,000 copies of the software to reach those who need it most.
This commitment from KSAPS builds on the 2010 commitment made by the Karnataka state government to implement the TeachAids materials into every government and government-aided secondary school across the state. A formal expert evaluation committee of the Karnataka office of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan examined the content and formally approved the materials as suitable for their school-going population. The materials will be distributed into more than 5,500 secondary schools throughout Karnataka.
In the coming months, TeachAids will collaborate with KSAPS, as well as several health leaders across the state, to develop culturally appropriate and biologically based HIV education materials. With the support from numerous local cultural icons, who have generously agreed to donate their voices and support, the materials will be customized to fit the local cultural context.
Karnataka faces one of the highest levels of HIV, making the task of prevention of critical importance. Adding to the challenges in reaching at-risk populations, it is also the ninth largest Indian state by population with approximately 61 million residents, of which more than half of them speak Kannada.
The existing TeachAids animations are already being used in 23 states and union territories across India. With the development of each new Indian language version, our hope is that even more people will gain access to these critical health materials.