Public health and HIV/AIDS

Few subjects in medicine have so many websites dedicated to them as HIV/AIDS, so the daunting task is not findinga website but choosing from the selection.

P VIROT/WHO

On the public health side, one of the umbrella websites is www.unaids.org, the website of the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS. This site gives recent overviews of the epidemic; reports from a specific area or country; information on the current global policy; and links to many programmes, organisations, resources, and events. The site also has a useful search engine, organised by topic, country, and organisation. For a similar point of view, information, and structure, you can visit also the AIDS sections in the World Health Organization's website (www.who.int/hiv/en), or in the World Bank's (www1.worldbank.org/hiv_aids).

Gateway to AIDS Knowledge (www.hivinsite.ucsf.edu) is a project of the University of California in San Francisco and an all round AIDS information website, including documents on epidemiology, prevention, and medical and socioeconomic issues. For specific country information, the website provides regional overviews of the context, impact, and response to HIV in various parts of the world. It is also worth browsing the section on policy analysis for an insight into “multidisciplinary research and analysis to enhance policy formulation and resource allocation.” The comprehensive collection of links to other AIDS related sites is useful and excellent.

The award winning www.aegis.com defines itself as “the definitive web based reference for HIV/AIDS related information” and “a vast database of facts regarding the history, prevention, and treatment of HIV/AIDS, to date over one million files.” The searchable database brings a global array of publications, news sources, and reference materials to your desktop.

For examples of AIDS programmes worldwide or funding information, one stop is The Global Fund (www.theglobalfund.org/en). This website is extensive and global, offers insight in funding issues around AIDS, and also has access to fact sheets and publications online.

For a good and up to date AIDS news resource, visit www.aidsmap.com, although the purpose of the website goes beyond providing news. The key topic guides facilitate the search for specific information. The website offers also a training toolkit for healthcare workers in low resource settings, which can be downloaded free of charge.

Medical students are also actors in the global fight against AIDS, and there are websites to prove this. Examples are www.fightglobalaids.org, the Student Global AIDS Campaign or www.amsa.org/global/hpsaan.cfm, the AIDS group of the American Medical Student Association. The latter also includes a set of resources, materials, and case studies designed to help students in presentations and organising events on AIDS (www.amsa.org/global/hpsaan_resources.cfm).