Education Impact on HIV/AIDS

Using Education to prevent HIV Educated women more likely to know how to prevent infection, delay sexual activity and take precautions Educated men more receptive to prevention messages If all children complete primary education HIV could be reduced by 700,000 a year (UNAIDS) Education provides knowledge, negotiating skills, critical thinking and the ability to analyse before acting.

knowledge 32 country study showed post-primary educated women 5 times more likely to know facts about HIV, illiterates 4 times more likely to believe there was no prevention Zambia 1990’s HIV fell by 50% in literate women, no change for uneducated Girls less likely to attend school because- Parents spend meagre resources on educating sons Girls prepared for marriage and domesticity Lack of status Caring for elderly and young siblings falls on girls

Impact of secondary schools Uganda – newspaper called ‘straight talk’ covers sexuality written by teenagers Botswana – girls 4 times more likely to have HIV, have started training students to be peer mentors for sexually sensitive clubs in school Brazil HIV prevalence increased 75% in girls now have same sex classes in school to discuss sensitive issues.

Hitting the target Education only useful if it reaches the target audience Globally 115m children do not attend school – 57% are girls 150m currently on roll will drop out before completing primary education Sub-Saharan Africa 54% girls do not complete primary ed. SE Asia only 25% complete 5 th grade Girls enrolment rates dropping in some of the hardest hit areas. Families affected by aids cannot afford school fees

Orphans and schooling m AIDS orphans, most unlikely to be able to afford school fees African schools losing teachers to AIDS Zambia 75% of newly trained teachers are required to replace those that have died. Malawi – lost so many teachers to AIDS that teacher pupil ratio is 96:1 Attitudes at school equally important – Caribbean women outnumber male graduates but 15 – 19 years 5 times more likely to have HIV

School systems Half of Caribbean women said their first sexual experience was either forced or coerced Young women generally stay in school in developed countries but in ELDCs where transfer may be less easy or less accountability they drop out. 33% in Johannesburg schools experience sexual violence Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia, S.Af, Sudan, Zimbabwe all have incidents of teachers demanding sexual favours for grades Need for school fees opens doors for sugar daddies Education systems need to change – non fee paying and teaching wider aspects of equality, human rights, not just knowledge.

Changes in education Viet Nam now include reproductive health years Kenya abolished school and uniform fees 2003 resulting in 1.3m entering education for the first time. Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania now free primary education Some areas have had to offer additional incentives such as food to encourage families to allow girls to attend school rather than work or run the house.