Development Issues: Education, Health, HIV/AIDS

Programme Summary

Teaching-aids At Low Cost (TALC) is a UK charity founded in 1965 with the objective of improving the health of children and advance medical knowledge and teaching in the UK and throughout the world by providing and developing educational material. While TALC has previously focused its efforts in developing countries; particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, it has since developed a truly global audience and now distributes to more than 200 countries. TALC's work is primarily focused on the production and supply of low cost books, including many essential texts on tropical medicine, nursing, surgery, HIV/AIDS, child-to-child teaching books and infectious diseases.

TALC also provides other teaching aids including 35mm slides sets, PictureCard training packs, rehydration spoons, child growth monitoring equipment. TALC has also recently taken over the Strategies for Hope series, which includes the well-known publication called Stepping Stones.TALC has a small number of dedicated volunteers, part-time and full-time staff. The management of TALC consist of an Executive Management Committee, which meets regularly and is advised by number of experts via a Medical Advisory Board.

TALC has also recently developed a project to disseminate health information on CD-ROMs, e-TALC, with the intent of improving access to health knowledge and information resources around the world.

Summary of ICT Initiatives

To support TALCs continuing work in providing low cost health information TALC has initiated a pioneering project to provide free information to health workers in the developing countries on CD-ROM. Although availability of computers is still limited in the developing countries it is growing fast, while access to the Internet is still very poor, due to cost and poor telephone systems. CD-ROMs can store large quantities of high quality information. They can be produced and distributed at low cost.

This service is designed to achieve the following:

• Production of CD-ROMS with a simple search engine, containing copyright free information. The CD-ROMs are easy to use and have the potential to be interactive (e.g. for training purposes)
• Provision of free access to up-to-date and appropriate health and development information and training materials for health workers.
• A low cost method for health workers, libraries, government and non-governmental organisations to distribute health information and training resources.
• A vehicle for the exchange of ideas and information.
• Educate users in web technology preparing them for access to wider resources on the Internet when connectivity improves.
• Allowing users to select, adapt and tailor materials to meet local needs and develop their own Library of materials at very low or zero cost.

Information on the CD-ROM can be downloaded, e-mailed or printed and freely reproduced and shared.

CDROM contributors have aimed their materials and information at developing world health care professionals. Some sample CD titles currently available from the TALC website include:

• Advanced Paediatric Life Support
• The e-TALC CD-ROMs (a mixed collection of materials)
• HIV/AIDS Parent to child transmission
• Quality Assurance Theory and Tools
• Tuberculosis Case Management

The TALC website also operates as a point of sale for a wide selection of materials that are essential for improving the health and living conditions for people in developing countries. Items such as infant scales, simple haemoglobin test kits, slide presentations for the identification of STDs and parasitic infections, and the a host of reference books for professionals as well as books aimed at improving health and behavioural practices in young teens.

Partners: UK Department for International Development

Source: The TALC website and the eTALC site.

For More Information Contact:

Caroline Marven - Project Co-ordinator

eTALC (Electronic Teaching-aids At Low Cost)

PO Box 49

St Albans

Herts

AL1 5TX

UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1727853869

Fax: +44 (0) 1727 846852

e-talc@talcuk.org

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