OLPC Tanzania

About OLPC Tanzania

More than 35 million HIV-infected people most of which are women and children live in the developing world, yet it is estimated that only one in ten persons infected with HIV has been tested and knows his/her HIV status. The United Republic of Tanzania, located in Southeastern Africa, on the coast of the Indian Ocean is home to a population of 38,329,000 . Per capita income is estimated to be at about $350 a year, thus Tanzania is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. HIV infection has reached epidemic proportions in Tanzania, and the country is currently one of the most affected countries of the sub Saharan African region with an estimated 1.3 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS. Effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV has been available in Tanzania for more than a decade. However, it is estimated that less than 20% of all the infected individuals in Tanzania are currently receiving treatment, the most affected persons are living in rural and hard to reach communities.

OLPC XO HIV/AIDS Education, Diagnostics, and Treatment

The pilot program will distribute 30 educational laptops to rural clinicians across Tanzania to lead HIV preventative education workshops in their communities and track local antiretroviral drug distribution. For this project we are collaborating with Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, and Kiwakkuki, a non-governmental organization in Tanzania that was created in 1990 to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. Kiwakkuki was founded to empower women and children in the region to access information about the causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS and to assist their communities in combating HIV/AIDS with education, counseling, emotional support and medical care. Today, Kiwakkuki works to improve awareness of HIV/AIDS with free testing, mobile healthcare workers, counseling, orphan support, home-based care, and community education.

Micro-Health Insurance Program

We will also implement a microinsurance program in the clinic. This program will function with the community members earning "health points", allocated and redeemable only by the clinician or healthcare workers. Individuals living in these rural areas will earn health points by showing a commitment to their health. These health points would then allow the patients to receive preferential access to limited resources available at the clinic including antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and formula milk for infants of HIV-infected women. It is our hope that this microinsurance program will incentivize people to prioritize their health and actively utilize the resources of the clinic.

Institutions

• One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Health
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Harvard University
• Kiwakkuki Tanzania
• Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI)
• HealthNovations International

Team

• Asad Moten, MIT Class of 2011 amoten@mit.edu, info@healthnovations.org
• Utkan Demirci, Harvard Medical School
• Jeffrey Blander, Harvard School of Public Health
• Adam Holt, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Health