What information needs to be included in HIV and AIDS education?

What information needs to be included in HIV and AIDS education?

Although HIV and AIDS education needs to be tailored to the context in which it takes place and to the people who are being educated, there are some key areas that HIV and AIDS education programmes need to cover. It is important that the information provided is a balance of the social and emotional aspects of HIV/AIDS as well as biological and medical information.

Comprehensive HIV and AIDS education includes:^{14 15}

How to protect and promote one’s health

• Basic knowledge of HIV and AIDS – including how to protect oneself from HIV infection.
• Learning about treatment and care - including an understanding of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and antiretroviral drugs.

Social and emotional aspects

• How to maintain a healthy level of self-confidence and self esteem.
• Coping with difficult and risky situations.
• Coping with loss.

Sexuality

• Learning about different sexual orientations and the development of sexuality.

Promotion of equity, including gender issues

• Understanding that social, biological, economic and cultural factors affect vulnerability to HIV.
• Understanding that men and women have similar rights in society and family.

Overcoming stigma and discrimination and promoting human rights

• How to show support for HIV positive people and how not to discriminate against or stigmatise people living with HIV
• Understanding the importance of confronting HIV and AIDS in the community

Providing the right information is only part of carrying out comprehensive HIV and AIDS education. For the education to be effective, this information needs to be absorbed and remembered. Active learning encourages people to engage with information by giving them the opportunity to apply it