Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has joined forces with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief for a program called The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation, and one of its creative ways to reach teens at risk in Nairobi is through the video game Pamoja Mtaani, which translates to Together in the Hood. The game was a topic of discussion at the recent Games For Health conference, which you can read more about here.
In the game, up to five teens can play as characters who are hijacked during an everyday bus ride. As the Sean, Lady D, Georgy, Lefty, and Judy learn about what was stolen from them with help from a guide named Mama Africa, they are also given choices about whether or not to use condoms, get tested for HIV, and make other safer sex decisions. There is also more information on HIV prevention on the game's official website.
According to WBIE, "The game, intended to engage youth through fun interaction, is designed to help influence HIV risk perceptions, attitudes and behaviors among young people in Nairobi."
The game is available for teens to play at three different youth centers in Nairobi, and similar pilot programs will be introduced in similar, teen-friendly settings like cafes, schools, and more. The program is currently being studied, so there is no hard data yet to prove that the game is helping raise consciousness, but the combination of privately owned companies like WBIE joining forces with non-profit government agencies is a promising step forward for educational video games.
The developer behind the games is Virtual Heroes, a noted company in the arena of video game design for health education, including the game for young cancer patients, Re-Mission.
Do you think that games can successfully educate teens about sex and HIV prevention? Leave your opinion of this pilot program in the comments section.
