Kenya museum exhibition

AUGUST 2005 – Kenya's National Museum in Nairobi has opened one of the first HIV/AIDS exhibitions ever mounted in an African museum. "Taking a Positive Step," which will stay in Nairobi for two months before touring regional museums over the next year, uses interactive multimedia to cover a broad range of information about the epidemic.

"The exhibition has something for everyone," says Rosemary Muchimuti, the museum's HIV/AIDS coordinator. "The poster displays show the general public what HIV is, how it is transmitted, and how it is prevented.

"There is also information on what a person living with HIV/AIDS should do for care and treatment, such as use of antiretroviral therapy, better nutrition, treatment of tuberculosis and opportunistic infections."

The exhibition, which opened Aug. 18, uses many media to educate viewers about AIDS. Teachers and computer-literate Kenyans can explore HIV-related topics in greater depth on three computers housed within the exhibition; a video clip about home-based care for people living with HIV airs continually. The museum also developed a website about the show that enables the public to learn about AIDS at home or in the office.

The exhibition and tour, supported by the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project, are funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the United States Agency for International Development. IMPACT is managed by Family Health International (FHI).

Of special interest to younger museumgoers is a large video screen airing a shortened episode of a show about Sara, created by UNICEF's Sara Communication Initiative, and Nuru, created by the IMPACT Project. These two animated characters, who promote abstinence and delay of sexual debut, are the stars of the Kenya Girl Guides Association's peer education program. Up to 300,000 youth are expected to visit the interactive display in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya.

"As school girls and boys come through the exhibit, there is something for them to identify with," says Honorine Kiplagat, national chairperson of the Kenya Girl Guides Association. 

Representatives of national and international organizations involved in HIV prevention and AIDS care in Kenya attended the exhibition opening. Girl Guides and Brownies entertained guests with songs and poems. The museum's choir performed, and a puppetry group supported by IMPACT presented a show about stigma and discrimination.

Speaking during the opening ceremonies, FHI Country Director John McWilliam pointed out that, in addition to public outreach, the National Museum had demonstrated how public institutions can mainstream programs on HIV and AIDS within the workplace, providing up-to-date information to museum employees as well as the community that the museum serves.

                                                              — Margaret Dadian

Photo: The exhibition uses interactive multimedia to educate museumgoers about HIV and AIDS. (FHI/Kenya)