HIV Awareness Video Game: Bad Taste Or More Needed?

There isn’t usually any need to put ‘HIV’ and ‘fun’ in the same sentence, but the people at Warner Brothers and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) have created a game to appeal to the younger generation called Pamoja Mtaani, which translates to ‘Together in the Hood’. It is currently being played in Nairobi, Kenya – and has apparently taken off with the young adults there.

It actually has quite a kickin’ soundtrack and is definitely addictive. Currently, thousands of teens have already played it and researchers at Emory University in Atlanta are trying to find out whether or not the game’s intentions are actually effective in teaching adolescents the hows and whats of HIV prevention. It’s quite a tricky subject to be tackling, especially when the consequences of such a virus are so severe. However, for me, this gets a full thumbs up as more people need to be made aware of the extreme nature of life’s atrocities.

The game isn’t entirely to do with HIV as you are able to run around as any of the five characters available to choose. The more you play the game, the more the characters get to make a choice which affects their likelihood of contracting or transmitting HIV – whether it be getting tested, staying abstinent, having fewer sexual partners, or using condoms regularly.

“The game can only do so much. The goal was to raise risk perception, but to keep it fun,” says Grace Osewe, who is the project leader for PEPFAR. Again… not quite convinced that the term ‘fun’ is the correct one in this context, but I applaud their spirit and effort nonetheless.

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2. Ghostbusters: The Video Game Trailer
3. Does US Ghostbusters Game Play On UK Xbox 360? – Confirmed!
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5. Lego Indiana Jones Game

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