CD-ROM Brings HIV/AIDS Information to Countries with Poor Internet Services

For doctors in developing countries in Africa and Asia, finding the latest information on HIV/AIDS is nearly impossible because of sluggish and unreliable Internet connections. A new CD-ROM produced by University of California-San Francisco's (UCSF) HIV InSite may help to bridge the information gap. The CD, titled "Women, Children, and HIV: Resources for Prevention and Treatment," was distributed last month to hundreds of African physicians and health ministers who attended the Third International Conference on Global Strategies for the Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mothers to Infants in Kampala, Uganda.

The CD-ROM presents the equivalent of 5,000 printed pages of in-depth information on several categories such as counseling and testing, the care of women and children with HIV, prevention, and nutrition and infant feeding. Each category contains articles on topics ranging from guidelines and policy analysis from the World Health Organization or CDC to articles on community education and training, as well as supporting articles from major research journals. The CD also offers contact information for organizations in each topic area that can provide more information or training.

In developing countries, the combination of expensive phone lines and slow Internet connections often make it financially impossible for physicians to find and download the latest publications and information, said Dr. Arthur Ammann, one of the project's editors and UCSF adjunct professor of pediatrics and president of Global Strategies for HIV Prevention. Physicians who received the CD-ROM last month have already begun to send in positive feedback. Doctors are reporting the CD serves as a very useful, quick reference, and provides them with data they couldn't find elsewhere, said Dr. Larry Peiperl, executive editor for the project and UCSF assistant professor of medicine. The project was supported by funding from Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, the John M. Lloyd Foundation, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR).

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