Mobile application for HIV data visualization at your fingertips

More than 600 people around the world have downloaded the UNAIDS AIDSinfo application for the Apple iPad since its launch in June, 2011. The ‘app’ provides immediate access to key county by country HIV data and can help policymakers, researchers and educators to better understand why and how HIV infection is spread and where treatment, care and support programmes are needed.

Research indicates that people are increasingly turning to this new mobile device to find information; there are currently tens of millions iPad users. “UNAIDS is committed to making information and strategic policy advice about the AIDS epidemic widely available,” said Dr Bernhard Schwärtlander, Director, Evidence, Strategy and Results Department. “We will continue to be innovative in the tools and channels we use to reach decision-makers and advocates with timely and accurate information.”

The AIDSinfo iPad app presents factsheets on 192 countries, comprising data, trends and charts on HIV epidemiology. Some of the functions include sharing key information via email, posting charts to Facebook and an RSS news feed. Although the application was optimized for the Apple iPad, with touch-based controls, a visible link is provided to the AIDSinfo database online, which contains additional data and powerful tools to enable more comprehensive investigations of the HIV epidemic.
UNAIDS is continuing to monitor usage of the app, review user feedback and evaluate options for further development including platform-agnostic access based on HTML5 and expansion of the AIDSinfo database via mobile and other interfaces.

The AIDSinfo iPad app is free from the Apple iTunes store, and AIDSinfo is available via the internet. For more information visit the UNAIDS website.