Education and services to prevent HIV/AIDS (Part 1)

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The AIDS epidemic has affected every major continent in the world although each has reacted to it differently.  While the United States and United Kingdom both dove into research and prevention Africa has been a late comer to the world of healthcare and healthcare services.  In terms of resources and knowledge Africa is not the most up to date continent but they have done much over the last 30 years to try and stop the disease before it wipes out the population.

The text lists many examples that I wanted to expand on with one being the regulation of sex workers and the way they are tested and registered by the government.  Prostitutes are tested monthly for STDs and every six months for HIV.  Through this testing the HIV rate in the country has remained consistently below 2 percent since the first cases were reported in the 1980s.  Men known to frequent sex workers were also educated about condom use and testing, and counseling was made available to both the workers as well as the clients.  Senegal has implemented a broad education program aimed at changing the way its citizens act in regards to sex.  Educational materials were not only handed out via health centers but also the government got the support of religious leaders who then educated their congregations on preventing HIV and AIDS.  This combining of religion and healthcare is genius because it breaks that silence and stigma associated with AIDS and allows people to act without being ostracized. The churches also provided support and counseling which even further opened the lines of communication and has no doubt helped people to understand the facets of this disease.

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Another country that is making active strides to educate its citizens about the disease is South Africa.  AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in South Africa and many attempts have been made to lower this.  Since 1999 the country has increased education in schools about HIV and AIDS with the goal of prevention and destigmatization.  The other goal of the schools is to provide a safe environment for youth to talk about the disease and how it plays a part in their life.  By talking about it the government hopes it will increase the confidence that children have in themselves and their ability to prevent themselves from getting the virus.  In addition to this the government has created a peer education system so that youth can learn from people their own age, (which they may listen to more).


These are a few examples of educational programs and regulations that are helping to change the course of HIV and AIDS in Africa and if more countries adopted this proactive approach (some are!) the amount of people who die every year from AIDS is bound to lessen.