Talking about HIV and AIDS

Approximately 33.4 million people were living with HIV in 2008 — more than 2 million of them children under the age of 15, whose early lives have been deeply affected by the crisis.

A nurse holding a condom talks to 13-year-old Pedro about sexual health issues. He is part of a group that meets each week in Vila Braslandia, a 'favela' or slum on the outskirts of San Paulo, Brazil, to explore sexual health issues and HIV prevention. Photo credit: Leticia Valverdes.

Save the Children is working flat out to protect children whose lives have been affected by the pandemic. Young people affected by poverty, illiteracy, low levels of schooling, child labour and early pregnancy have an increased risk of contracting HIV.

We are playing a leading role in getting children and their communities to talk about HIV and AIDS to ensure they get the knowledge and skills they need to protect themselves.

We have found that young people listen to and receive information from peers much more effectively than from adults. Children and young people trained as peer educators in Vietnam talked with a total of 71,878 children about how to avoid contracting HIV.

In Myanmar (Burma), more than 20,000 young people who are currently out of school had discussions about HIV and AIDS and received life-skills training from their peers. Assessments conducted afterwards showed that their knowledge had improved and that condom use had increased.

Brazil has the highest number of people living with the virus in South America.We support the work of peer educators in the cities of Sao Paulo, Recife and Natal, who have helped 2,355 young people talk about relationships, values and rights and to learn about prevention through discussions and drama activities.

Surveys show that 36 per cent of young people aged 15 to 24 had had sex before the age of 15 in Brazil, and 20% reported more than 10 partners. We have recently begun working with 10- to 14-year-olds to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to protect themselves against contracting HIV.

Our Sissy Aminata programme in Sierra Leone encourages discussion of formerly taboo topics such as safer sex and sexual abuse. The programme produces books and pamphlets with fictional letters sent to an 'agony aunt' Sissy Aminata. The letters are read out and used as a catalyst for discussion on reproductive and sexual health. The programme involves 2,263 children and young people in 49 communities in the country.

In China, we have set up 15 children's activity centres in villages with a high prevalence of HIV, and in poverty-stricken districts of Fuyang City. More than 3,200 children take part in activities such as story-telling competitions, art and drama.

Many children affected by HIV and AIDS experience discrimination at school or in their communities. The centres provide them with an opportunity to develop friendships and to talk about their experiences. They also play a role in running and managing the centres.