Warner Uses Game to Promote AIDS Prevention

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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will soon launch Pamoja Mtaani, a free multiplayer PC game that raises awareness of AIDS and HIV, Variety reports.

Translated as "Together in the Hood," the Virtual Heroes-developed title will be playable at youth centers in Nairobi, Kenya. According to Africa News Science, Nairobi is the pilot location for The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation, and will be used to discern the most effective practices in halving HIV infections among those aged 10-24.

Wrote Warner Bros.:

The "Pamoja Mtaani" game, developed by noted serious games developer, Virtual Heroes, Inc., follows five strangers who are brought together through unforeseen circumstances, losing what is most precious to each of them. Working their way through various East African neighborhoods, players must recover the stolen items and help an injured woman on their quest. Along the way, they will experience barriers and facilitators to behavior change through a variety of missions and mini-games.

The HIV-Free Generation program, part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launches today in Nairobi. Other companies, such as Coca-Cola and Nike, are part of the program and are hoping to lower HIV infections in girls aged 15-24, as girls are said to represent "two-thirds of all new infections among 15-to-24 year-olds."

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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