Africa: New Orleans Newspaper Highlights AAI’s Role in Reducing Spread of AIDS

26 September 2003
Africa-America Institute (New York)
press release

New Orleans — The New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper recently recognized one of the ways that the Africa-America Institute’s educational programs are helping to fight the AIDS pandemic. On September 1, 2003, journalist Deon Roberts wrote about a pilot project between AAI and Tulane University to give African health care professionals the latest information on reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Headlined "Tulane University Teaches Medical Professionals from Africa How to Manage Health Care," the article describes how Tulane professor Doreen Babo lectures in front of a camera, takes notes on a computerized chalkboard and then sends them to classrooms in Kenya, Ghana and Namibia. Babo’s students "are already leaders in the health care arena in their country," Roberts writes, "Some students are now managing HIV/AIDS reduction projects."

AAI provided funding for the pilot project through the African Technology for Education and Workforce Development (AFTECH) initiative, and helped connect Tulane with the African health professionals taking Professor Babo’s course.

Applauding this use of AFTECH funds, Melvin Foote, president of the Washington, DC-based Constituency for Africa, is quoted in the article as saying, "I think it’s forward thinking (and) a good way of using talent," he said. "By teaching over the Internet, professors can reach students without ever crossing a physical border. This is really a creative, innovative way to get this done."

The partnership is a real plus for Tulane, Babo says in the article. "We benefit from the contract, which helps support the university initiatives that we have here. It's also benefiting me in that the content of this course, and the guest speakers that have come in, are also going to be used in courses that I'm teaching for students here."

Professor Babo also foresees that "Tulane might also get involved in research projects with officials in Africa. And then we certainly hope we have a long time relationship with the Africa-America Institute in doing future courses like this."

In prior years, a number of AAI alumni have completed studies at Tulane. "From 1997 to 2001, doctors and nurses from Eritrea have received master's degrees in public health from Tulane through AAI-administered programs," the article mentions. "Prior to that, Ministry of Health officials from Cameroon, Niger and Uganda studied public health at Tulane under AAI-administered programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development."

Among other AFTECH projects AAI is involved with, the New Orleans CityBusiness article also mentions the University of Iowa, used earlier this year to create a course in math and science for several African countries.

AAI is also in discussions with other universities.

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