About This Project

Ebola virus is spreading rapidly in West Africa. We are sharing a 3D animation explaining the symptoms of the Ebola and how to prevent infection. Local organizations can use this video as part of their educational programs. Scientific Animations Without Borders is a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign program that transforms information on relevant, humanitarian topics into animations which are then produced into a diversity of languages.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Scientific Animations Without Borders™ (SAWBO)
is a University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign based program. SAWBO transforms extension information on relevant topics as agriculture, disease and women's empowerment, into 2D, 2.5D and 3D animations, which are then voice overlaid into a diversity of languages from around the world. All SAWBO animations are made freely available to anyone wishing to use them for educational purposes. Animations can be downloaded from a diversity of SAWBO channels and used on computers, tablets, cell phones, TVs, and overhead projection systems.

What is the significance of this project?

Ebola is spreading in West Africa. Inhabitants of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea have limited access to information about the disease and how to reduce risk of exposure and protect from infection. It's extremely urgent for local organizations to have the resources to be able to communicate basic health information to populations with low health literacy in order to help them understand the disease and adopt positive health behaviors.

What are the goals of the project?

Having this video available in 10 main languages used in the zone is a first step for local organizations to have the resources necessary to begin to work in the field.