Global Projects

Since 1991, EDC staff have served as consultants and advisors to the World Health Organization (WHO) and have authored numerous publications for WHO on global school health issues. In 1998, HHD was designated as the WHO Collaborating Center to Promote Health Through Schools and Communities. The Center’s goal is to deliver services that strengthen the capacities of schools and communities worldwide to promote the healthy development of students, school personnel, families, and surrounding communities.

This project provides educational opportunities and care and support for orphaned children in the Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand. Currently, the program provides psycho-social support and material support in the form of scholarships to 335 children. Scholarship support is critical for many families, especially those dependent on the income of elderly grandparents.

EDC and Save the Children, in collaboration with local governments, work in the provinces of Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Biac Giang, and Long An to support HIV/AIDS prevention activities such as peer education and awareness-raising events. The program also provides special care and support to an increasing number of AIDS orphans and their families through micro-credit loans, scholarships and psychological counseling.

STEP works with the Ministry of National Education (MEN for its initials in French) to build the capacity of its personnel to offer high-quality training and support to Madagascar’s growing numbers of teachers and schools. Based on STEP’s successful pilot program in the provinces of Toliara, Fianarantsoa, and Tamatave, MEN is expanding the program nationally with technical assistance from EDC.

In partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), EDC’s Sudan Radio Service has developed a new civic education radio series that will increase listeners’ knowledge of political developments and also promote increased discussion of political developments, tolerance of diverse viewpoints, and non-violent solutions to complex problems. The series, entitled “Let’s Talk,” is a weekly, 30-minute, multi-segment program produced in English and several Sudanese languages.

EDC/HHD works with local partners in four countries in South and Southeast Asia to provide care and support as well as prevention education to children affected and infected with HIV and AIDS. Project activities include providing financial and in-kind assistance to orphaned children to attend school, vocational training for young people who must now support their families, and training peer educators so they can educate their friends in their own communities about HIV prevention.

Education International (EI), EDC, and the World Health Organization work with teacher-union affiliates in nearly 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Caribbean, and Latin America to prevent new HIV infections, increase the number of learners completing basic education, and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on achieving Education For All Goals. This work involves a range of activities including training, policy development, advocacy, research, publicity and communications.

EDC is commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to design, develop, and pilot test a Web site based on the Exploring humanitarian law (EHL) materials. Created to improve the efficiency and quality of the EHL program, the Web site will enable the ICRC to disseminate international humanitarian law among adolescents worldwide. The Web site will include online events, interactive content, and resource materials for teachers and teacher educators.

EDC is developing an interactive, animated CD-ROM for high school students in West Africa to teach them about Pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza. Through this e-Learning multimedia product—with computer games and a comic style story—students will learn about the transmission and dangers of the H1N1 virus, necessary skills to protect themselves, and how to communicate with parents, relatives, and friends about the dangers of transmission and appropriate preventive actions.

EDC is writing a manual on pandemic preparedness for schools in an effort to protect the health of students, staff, and families across the globe. It will be distributed through the World Health Organization. The manual is intended to help administrators and teachers with pandemic planning and response in schools. It emphasizes the need for school-based efforts to prevent the spread of influenza.