AIDS prevention through school health education: some sensitive issues.

PIP: AIDS education for young people 10-24 years old requires special attention given the prevalence of high-risk social and sexual behaviors in this age group. Schools represent neglected agents of behavioral change and vehicles for the dissemination of AIDS-related information. Sex education has been shown to lead to more responsible behavior in young people and reduces the exposure to HIV risk by delaying the initiation of sexual activity or increasing condom use. Although program goals may vary from school to school, the general goals of AIDS education are to reduce the risk of infection by imparting accurate information about HIV/AIDS, correct myths and misinformation, create an appropriate degree of concern and motivation for behavioral change, build skills needed to avoid high-risk situations, and eliminate fears and prejudiced attitudes toward people with AIDS. A clearly formulated policy that takes account of the moral, cultural, religious, and philosophical issues related to HIV/AIDS is essential to the success of school-based AIDS prevention. Also important is support from teachers, parents, and the community.^ieng

Country watch: India.

PIP: This article describes the activities of the "Universities Talk AIDS" (UTA) program in India. The program is run by the Indian government as a strategy to prevent HIV/AIDS by informing students and encouraging discussion about healthy human sexuality. UTA works through the National Service Scheme (NSS), Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, which has a student network of 1.25 million volunteers operating in nearly all India's universities. UTA began on an experimental basis in 1991 in 59 universities. Each college campus received US$90/year. UTA has trained 7000 educator-facilitators who are active in 7500 colleges affiliated with 158 universities. Almost 75,000 peer educators (PEs) have been trained. About 10 million students were made aware of the causes, consequences, and prevention of HIV infection. UTA maintains a campus-to-community link called "Concerted Action by Universities upon Silent Emergencies" (CAUSE-2000). UTA developed knowledge, attitudes, and practices surveys, evaluation reports, IEC, training manuals, modules, and documentary films. Training camps are conducted on campuses, followed by intensive orientation workshops for field officers and selected PEs from various colleges. Discussion topics include medical facts, global scenarios, human sexuality and development processes, responsible sexual behavior, values, misconceptions/beliefs, prejudice and its impact, attitudes toward condom use, and the cultural impact of HIV/AIDS counseling. Workshop participants prepared education messages in local dialects for the larger community. NSS will be withdrawing support at the end of the 3-year period, which creates the need for sustainably trained facilitators.^ieng