Lecturer makes a World of Difference
29 July 2010
Ailie Judd, an Honorary Lecturer working in the Faculty of Health and Applied Social Science and a voluntary HIV health worker, has been researching HIV prevention with pregnant women in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar.
Fort Dauphin is one of the poorest regions in Madagascar - with over 90% living below the poverty line. Sex working is the predominant form of income for local women and rates of HIV have already risen in the town by 64% in the last four years since the development of the Rio Tinto ilmenite mine. Madagascar is a prime example of a country at risk of a generalised epidemic, following the same pattern as other sub-Saharan African nations, yet subsequently forgotten and ignored.
Update - 28/07/10
Ailie has recently been announced as one of the 8 winners of the Vodaphone 'World of Difference' competition. This means Ailie will be travelling to Madagascar to spend a year working with the charity of her choice, Azafady.
Ailie commented: "It was a nail biting finish, but all came together as we received overwhelming support to ensure a first place with almost 4000 votes.
"Even though this week as been exhausting and at times somewhat uncomfortably competitive, it has been an uplifting experience of the powers of social networking, which has enabled the connection of people from around the world to participate in this poll. I am sincerely grateful to everyone that voted and encouraged others to do the same. This really is a tremendous success for Azafady and I am excited at what prospects may follow.
"Winning this competition means I am able to return to Madagascar in September for a year and set up a specialized HIV prevention project with pregnant women, whilst also being able to commence my PhD. A truly memorable day, which will make a world of difference to me, Azafady and the communities of south east Madagascar."
If you would like to follow Ailie's progress, you can stay up to date on the following websites:
MTV blog
Azafady website
Azafady Facebook
