In Kenya,26 groups comprising head teachers,

In Kenya,26 groups comprising head teachers, resource or senior teachers and community representatives were
trained to deliver HIV and AIDS education with a particular focus on prevention and care for those affected by HIV
by infusing and integrating lessons across the entire school curriculum, with a focus on students aged between 12
and 14. Upon their return to school, graduates of the training provided training for their colleagues, delivered HIV
and AIDS education in the classroom and implemented co-curricular activities, such as drama, music, art, public
speaking, writing, sports and exhibitions, within and across local schools.
The HIV epidemic has signifi cantly raised the profi le of the condom, which has become the most popular method
of contraception for sexually active people. However, some argue the association between condoms and HIV also
stigmatises condoms (and their users).27 Given that two-thirds of young women whose partners use condoms are
motivated by the desire to avoid pregnancy, and that it is more socially acceptable to raise the issue of condom use
with a sexual partner in relation to pregnancy rather than HIV, more attention needs to be paid to highlighting the
contraceptive benefi ts of condoms.
The issue of condoms highlights some of the key tensions that can compromise the effectiveness of sex and relationships
education, including community and religious sensitivities and teacher discomfort.
A study of the condom component of the Primary School Action for Better Health (PSABH) programme in Kenya28
highlighted how inconsistent information about condoms was provided to young people. Teachers and community
and church leaders believed in and presented abstinence as the only effective way to prevent sexual transmission
of HIV. As a result, they had diffi culty developing a clear position on the use of condoms, a situation exacerbated
by government silence on the topic and the confl icting positions taken respectively by social marketing campaigns
and churches and leaders. This led teachers to often repeat negative and inaccurate messages on condoms.
Students recognised the contradictions in what they heard from teachers and other adults in their communities and
turned towards peers with sexual experience and particular teachers who were more comfortable with the subject.
Following training, there was evidence that an increasing number of young people were receiving information about
25 Stone and Ingham, 2006.
26 Source: http://www.psabh.info/ and http://www.odi.org.uk/RAPID/Tools/Case_studies/PSABH.html
27 John Cleland (personal communication).
28 Brouillard-Coyle, C. et al. 2005. The Inclusion of Condoms in a School-Based HIV Prevention Intervention in Kenya. Abstract 17th World
Congress of Sexology, July 10-15. Montreal, Canada.
September 2008 17
condoms within their schools. By addressing the concerns raised by community disseminators of HIV information,
it was possible for them to become more comfortable with condom messages, for the number of contradictory
messages to decrease together with a corresponding change in the attitudes of young people towards condoms