TeachAids announces CoviDB for Kids, a global platform for organizing age-appropriate resources and learning materials. CoviDB For Kids is an interactive database that fills a gap in the online learning space for youth to understand in their language about COVID-19. Among the topics specifically covered are daily challenges such as social distancing, hand washing, face masks, and mental health, with peers and beyond.

Early last year, TeachAids, a nonprofit pioneer in developing worldwide infectious disease education, joined forces with faculty members from three of the world’s top global health and education institutions—Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health (CIGH), the Institute for Global Health Sciences (IGHS) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Together they launched CoviDB, a community-edited platform organizing resources across a comprehensive set of topics relating to COVID-19 for free public use.

“CoviDB for Kids is designed to support parents as they teach their children how to navigate the complexities around the COVID environment,” says Dr. Michele Barry, Senior Associate Dean of Global Health at Stanford and the Director of Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health. “We are honored to partner with TeachAids to launch this innovative platform and share it with our community.”

“Ensuring that accurate and relatable information reaches youth worldwide in a timely fashion is of the utmost importance during a pandemic. I am excited to collaborate with TeachAids on this critical education initiative,” says Dr. George Rutherford, Professor of Epidemiology and Head of the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Epidemiology at University of California San Francisco.

“At a time when high-quality online education is needed most, this content designed for a young age group fills an incredible need,” says Dr. Gary Mukai, the Director of the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education, which has 40+ years of experience in developing helpful curricula for teachers. “We are proud to partner with TeachAids and looking forward to equipping teachers with this educational content through our national SPICE networks.”

Curated for children aged three to 12, the CoviDB for Kids interactive database organizes high quality COVID-19 resources from around the world to enable youth and parents to find trusted, attractive and valuable materials.

CoviDB for Kids is dedicated in memory of Dr. David Katzenstein, a world-class Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases at Stanford University. An ardent believer that education was key to solving global health challenges, he was an active volunteer with TeachAids for over 10 years and helped launch the CoviDB platform. He passed away on January 25, 2021 of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe surrounded by those he had trained and mentored, doing what he loved which was helping people.

CoviDB for Kids is now live and is available for free.