Why is AIDS Education Important for Young People?

Young people are especially vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). They are also vulnerable as regards drug use (and not just injected drugs). Even if they are not engaging in risk behaviours today, they may soon be exposed to situations that put them at risk.

In many countries 60% of all new HIV infections are among 15-24 year-olds. Also the highest rates of STDs are usually found in the age range 20-24 years, followed by 15-19 years.

Does education about AIDS make young people more sexually active?

It is commonly supposed that talking to young people about sex will make them do it. Such anxieties prevent many teachers, youth workers and parents from talking about sexual matters. Alternatively, they may encourage an over-emphasis on the negative aspects of sex - unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS - rather than positive aspects such as intimacy, sexual love and pleasure. Likewise when drugs are talked about the emphasis is often on the damage they can cause. This kind of unbalanced approach is often seen through by young people. In consequence, they may reject all that adults have to say, seeking guidance and role models from peers and from the media.

Contrary to what might popularly be believed, research looking at the effects of sex education on young people's sexual behaviour offers little evidence that it hastens the onset of sexual experience, or increases sexual risk among those who are already sexually active. Indeed, several studies from different countries show that good quality sex education can actually decrease the likelihood that young people will have sex, and increases condom use among those who are already sexually active.

What type of education works best in school?

It is widely recognised that the best approaches to sex and drug education in schools are broad based and have several components. These include the provision of factual information about biology, sexual development, and sexual and drug-related risks; a concern with personal relationships, feelings and values; an emphasis on the acquisition of relevant negotiation skills (including but not restricted to how to say 'no'); and a consideration of wider social pressures and cultural expectations.

Successful sex education programmes have several key qualities. These include the provision of information, exercises to encourage an appraisal of values, and role play rehearsal to teach sexual negotiation skills. Programmes that aim to reduce specific sexual risk-taking behaviours and which reinforce group norms against unprotected sex and discuss social pressures to have unprotected sexual activity have been shown to be particularly successful. School curricula with these qualities have been shown significantly to reduce the likelihood that students who have not had sex prior to their exposure to the curriculum will have had unprotected sexual intercourse eighteen months later.

What works out of school?

Ideally, services for young people should be provided in a variety of ways - through specialised clinics, through youth advisory services, through general practitioners (doctors) and through local outreach work. The kind of services that are found most acceptable and appropriate by young people are those that offer a range of integrated services, are accessible at evenings and weekends, are close to public transport, have an appropriate image and atmosphere, and have approachable, non-judgmental and reassuring staff.

Studies show that peers can be well respected sources of information and support on AIDS-related concerns. Peer-led education has been shown to be effective in the field of substance abuse, and there are studies demonstrating its ability to bring about changes in HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Studies focusing on risk behaviours are harder to come by. The best peer-led education programmes have clear objectives, provide training, support and supervision for peer educators, are accompanied by service provision or referral to appropriate services, and include regular monitoring and evaluation.

Other successful out of school programmes include those that provide culturally appropriate opportunities for learning through videotapes, games, exercises and other materials. These have been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of unsafe sex and promoting intentions to use condoms.

How can we meet the needs of special groups?

Some groups of young people have special needs in relation to HIV and AIDS. Perhaps the most obvious of these are related to gender. Young women in particular may require support in acquiring the assertiveness and sexual negotiation skills that may enable them to avoid unwanted or unprotected sex. Young men on the other hand may need encouragement to listen carefully to what young women have to say and to respect their wishes in relation to sex and drug use.

The needs of young lesbians and young gay men may be missed by programmes and interventions that assume that all young people are heterosexual. There is evidence from the US at least that some young gay men may be at special risk of HIV. A variety of factors may cause this including the perception that AIDS is a disease of older men, a sense of low self worth caused by the reactions of parents and society, and less experience negotiating safer sex. Effective interventions among young gay men include risk-reduction counselling followed by peer education and referral to appropriate health services, and community based programmes using social, outreach and small group activities organised and run by young men themselves.

Young Black people and young people from minority ethnic communities may also have special needs when it comes to the promotion of safer sex and safer drug use. These may include access to materials and messages that are linguistically and culturally relevant, as well as what some writers have called 'culturally relevant learning'. These include activities and videotapes that engage directly with the interests and anxieties of the young people concerned.

Young homeless people may have special needs when it comes to HIV prevention. Some may have unsafe sex in order to obtain food and clothing, and in order to have somewhere to live. Some may share syringes and needles when injecting drugs. For many such young people, HIV and AIDS may seem less important than finding food and shelter. In order to be effective, intervention programmes among homeless young people need to address these concerns as well as AIDS-related issues. Providing access to health care and other resources, training in coping and sexual negotiation skills, and video and art workshops have been shown to be effective in reducing high risk patterns of sexual behaviour and promoting consistent condom use among members of this group.

Why are Schools Important?

Many young people cannot talk about AIDS either at home or in the community. Nor can they talk about the risk behaviours that can lead to HIV infection. In many countries family planning clinics are mostly restricted to married women and couples, and young people are reluctant to talk about sex to doctors or nurses, either out of embarrassment or because they are worried that confidentiality will not be respected. They may feel equally uncomfortable talking to their parents, and their parents in turn may also be embarrassed or lack the confidence to discuss the subject with their children.

However, most young people do attend school at some point, and school is an entry point where these topics can be addressed. The potential strengths of a school setting are that children there have a curriculum, teachers, and a peer group. And school can teach them not only information, but also skills. School can also help to shape attitudes.

Obstacles to AIDS Education in Schools

Despite the desirability of AIDS education in schools, there are a number of obstacles which often stand in the way. Some countries have no policies on AIDS education, and in others there can even be policies specifically against AIDS education.

At the level of individual schools, one major obstacle is that often the subject can be considered by adults such as policy-makers, teachers and parents, as too sensitive for children or too controversial. Another obstacle, which is often encountered, is that the school curriculum is already full and that it is therefore impossible to find a slot for AIDS education.

Even when HIV and AIDS education is provided in a school, it is often inadequate for one or more of the following reasons:-

HIV and AIDS education is often provided that deals only with medical and biological facts, and not with the real-life situations that young people find themselves in. Only if life skills are taught, and matters such as relationships, sexuality and the risks of drug use discussed, will young people be able to handle situations where they might be at risk of HIV infection.
Only one option in terms of sexual behaviour may be offered (for example, that of abstinence) regardless of the age of the students.
Materials for teachers may not exist, and teachers may not be properly trained to organise classroom activities on sensitive issues.
No education is provided on referral services, such as further information and skills training, counselling, and youth-friendly STD services.
Overcoming the Obstacles - Developing a Consensus

Various "gatekeepers" such as policy-makers, religious leaders, parents, teachers and teachers' associations normally determine whether and what kind of AIDS education is taught in schools. Although they may consider some aspects of AIDS education controversial or unacceptable, there is likely to be some consensus among them on certain issues. For example, that students need protection from sexual abuse, that they should be able to refuse drugs, and that there should be educational equality between boys and girls.

This consensus can be a starting point, and it can then be extended to other matters such as the premises that adolescents can learn how to make sound decisions, including about avoiding risk behaviour, and that society should help rather than hinder them in such matters.

Overcoming the Obstacles - Designing A Good Curriculum

The starting point for designing a good curriculum for AIDS education should be to make a proper situation assessment. This involves studying students' patterns of behaviour relating to the risk of HIV and finding out, for example, what is the average age at which they first have sexual intercourse, what are their most common forms of sexual behaviour and of drug consumption (including alcohol) and when they tend to leave school.

Such an assessment should start by asking young people's views. Asking young people is essential as young people do not necessarily share adults' attitudes on sexual and drug behaviour. The students must be assured of confidentiality so that they give honest responses. The results of this assessment will have a direct bearing on the rest of the curriculum design which should then involve undertaking the following steps.

Defining the type of programme (including the age at which it is to be introduced).
Selecting objectives for the programme.
Making a curriculum plan.
Planning specifically for the production of learning materials, and for activities of the students.
Developing teachers' guides.
Overcoming the Obstacles - Ensuring an Effective AIDS Education Programme
Effective programmes are those that have had a positive influence on behaviour as regards sex, drug use and non-discrimination, and not simply increased knowledge and changed the attitudes of students.

It has been shown that effective programmes do all the following things:

Focus on life skills with the double aim of delaying first sexual intercourse and encouraging protected intercourse.
Concentrate on personalising risk through appropriate role playing and discussions.
Discuss clearly the possible result of unprotected sex, and in equally clear terms the ways to avoid such an outcome.
Explain where to turn for help and support among peers, school staff, and outside facilities.
Stress that skills useful for self-protection from HIV also help build self-confidence and avoid unwanted pregnancy, sexual abuse, and the abuse of drugs (including tobacco and alcohol)
Reinforce values, norms and peer group support for practising and sustaining safe behaviour and resisting unsafe behaviour, both at school and in the community.
Provide sufficient time for classroom work and interactive teaching methods such as role play and group discussions.
Start at the earliest possible age and certainly before the onset of sexual activity. Effectively this means that age appropriate programmes should start at primary school level.
A Good Example In Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe all schools since 1993 have had compulsory weekly lessons on life skills and AIDS, for all students from grade 4(9-10 year olds) upwards. Booklets for students and teachers are designed for each grade and address four main themes: relationships, growing up, life skills and health. Topics range from discussions on gender roles and rape, to coping with emotions and stressful expectations. In the classroom, self-esteem and assertiveness are encouraged, and role playing suggests ways to respond to peer pressures. In addition to using booklets in the classroom, students also do projects in the community.

All materials are reviewed and approved by a committee including the national AIDS programme, the Ministry of Education, and representatives from the major religious denominations.

A large teacher training programme helps prepare serving teachers as well as students and teacher training colleges.

No way!! no way!! Life is not what we think it is, but cards placed on a table of water. No one can play these cards with joy, coz the water hinders the players.
Where are we driving to, is the question. Life is getting rough and tough every day? people hunting for one another. prizes and awards being place on others head. what for? ONLY GOD ALONE CAN TELL.

Where are we thinking of while living? people say there is no God, others say the Bible is an idea from men, some Cameroonians say AIDS means American International Way of Discouraging Sex. These are the real virtures of life and the parables life holds. No one should be taken by surprise when the world comes to and end or when the Americans will say " BIN LADEN has been captured". Things are just going any how,that we can't defend nor give statements on.Behold to the father who gives his child a snake when he/she ask for fish.

I do ask my self, when really will all these sufferings on earth will come to an end. Only the shadow of a flying hawlk will tell the hen that danger is arround.For no one raises up a business to lose but to make profits, nor can a young fox teach an old fox old tricks, but recent tricks.
Why and what for should we be angry with one another, fight one another, kill one another or kill our selves? NO ANSWER!!

September 11 2001 is a day I can't foreget no matter how far I was and I am from the place it all took place. I was there spiritually and cried with the families that lost their love ones. I lost my faith in men, for I didnt believe men could do what they did.
Lucifer on earth, is the conclusion, but why should he be here is the next question.

NO MAN CAN TEACH HIS/HER GRAND MOTHER HOW TO BREAST FEED A BABY!! Nor can we teach our selves to know what is good or bad. We all have a second personality and we need time to get to know him.

SEX,DRUGS,KILLINGS,CORRUPTION,POVERTY and all sorts of societal ills are the order of the day now in our World.

How was the world 100yrs ago? did people die like this? In those days, when non of us was here on earth, men and women could live till 500years.. but now it's not the same.
ENTHROPY every where.

Govermnents make rules and can't keep them. Things happen and there is no one who can STOP them. Countries fight for POWER which is no theirs. IS GOD SLEEPING of giving them a long ROPE TO DRAW? I wish to be there on the day GOD HIMSELF WILL TAKE CONTROL OF THINGS.

Watch out the way u Goverment leaders do your things. Life is brief and the earth is a passage to a different world.

WHAT PROFITS YOU IF YOU GAIN THIS WHOLE WORLD AND U LOSE YOUR SOUL? any answer?? I dont think so. So think in every actions of yours, for the day is coming, when....
THE HUNTER WILL BE THE HUNTED....