H o w t o u s e

H o w t o u s e
t h i s t o o l
Use these general questions as a checklist when
participating in discussions on the internal planning
of your agency.
Use both the general and education-specifi c questions
as a reference when you are providing feedback
to partners and to sectors/ governments on
proposals for funding and implementation arrangements.
Not every question needs to be asked in
every context, but the most relevant questions
should be selected from the list.
Keep these questions in mind when you are reviewing
progress in the context of your work. This may
be in terms of a specifi c programme or project, or
at a sector or even country level, for example, in
the context of drafting PRSPs.
G e n e r a l q u e s t i o n s
The following questions should be posed when
considering support to a particular sector, programme
or initiative. They are not specifi c to the education sector
and should therefore also apply to your colleagues
from other sectors. In fact, reviewing these questions
together with other agency staff working on social and
human development issues can be a very useful way of
stimulating discussion and joint work.
What are the current HIV incidence and prevalence
levels?17 How have these evolved over time?
Which population groups are currently most at risk
(e.g. injecting drug users, men who have sex with
men, young people, women, migrant populations)?
How is HIV projected to evolve over the next 5-10
years?
Are HIV and AIDS perceived as problems by the
‘owner(s)’ (the sector ministry, the organization, the
research institution, parents, communities, etc.)?
Do the ‘owners’ acknowledge the importance of
addressing SRHR as a comprehensive part of HIV
and AIDS prevention and mitigation?
What actions are currently being undertaken in the
sector, programme or project to ensure that a) the
clients (e.g. learners, patients, farmers, refugees) and
b) the employees (e.g. educators, nurses, extension
workers, emergency aid workers) are able to stay
healthy and to avoid becoming infected?
What percentage of girls and women have access
to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services?
What is currently being done to ensure that SRHR
are promoted and upheld?
What impact might HIV and AIDS have on the sector,
programme or project in the future? What is the
current impact? What is the expected impact?
Mainstreaming:
basic questions to ask
yourself and others
P urpose
Addressing mainstreaming is done most easily and effectively by ensuring that you and
others include it as an integral part of the programme or project cycle. In other words, in each
of the decision-making steps that your agency and sector are involved in, it will be important to
consider specifi c questions and issues that relate directly to the impact of HIV and AIDS.
In this tool, a set of questions is provided that you need to ask yourself and others in the
course of your work. The fi rst set of questions in this tool is general and can be applied to any
sector or type of programme. The second set of questions is specifi c to the education sector
and should help you in managing/supporting decisions in your programme. Tool 5 discusses
specifi c opportunities – or entry points – for posing these questions.
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Who is currently dealing with issues related to HIV &
AIDS and SRHR? What is the commitment of decision-
makers/authorities/community leaders or other
stakeholders and development partners? Is the commitment
perceived to be satisfactory by the various
stakeholders? Which additional stakeholders should
be involved?
What specifi c actions can be taken to build the capacity
of the sector to respond to the impact of HIV and
AIDS? What actions can be taken in the sector, in the
programme and in the project? Does HIV and AIDS
capacity-building include a focus on SRHR?
Who should take action? Local decision-makers/
authorities/politicians? Communities? Other stakeholders?
Can specifi c actions be incorporated in the
programme or in the project?
Have specifi c resources been budgeted for HIV- and
AIDS-related priorities? What resources (e.g. human,
fi nancial and material) are needed? From which sources
can they be provided? How can these fi nancial
resources be channelled? Through the authorities?
Through the communities? Through the programme
or project? Through linking up with a partner?
Will the outcome of the proposed interventions by the
sector, programme or project be compromised by
the present and future impact of HIV and AIDS? Will
the proposed intervention impact negatively on the
transmission of HIV? Which coping strategies may be
designed and included?
How will the actions be monitored and accounted
for? Do the proposals include measurable indicators
on HIV and AIDS?
How will programme stakeholders and other partners
be made aware of the results and impact of these
initiatives?
As you can see, these questions will not always be
easy to answer. It is important, therefore, to check
that suffi cient information is available to provide you
with a general picture. Some of this information may
be contained in the documentation that comes with
requests for funding and is submitted to your agency
by the ‘owner(s)’ (which could be the ministry of
education or one of its departments, or a local NGO
or organizations). If this is not the case then you may
need to procure additional information or may want
to consider assisting the government in obtaining this
information by commissioning a study, by providing
support to research, by organising a technical
discussion/review or through other means.
E d u c a t i o n - s p e c i f i c
q u e s t i o n s
In dealing with the education sector, more specifi c
questions apply, in addition to the general questions
suggested above. These questions aim to address
aspects related to the internal and the external
dimensions of mainstreaming (see Tool 2).
Ethical issues
Do educators have the understanding, skills and
support to recognise and respond to special needs
for education on HIV & AIDS and SRHR?
What is being done to prevent sexual exploitation of
learners by educators? Are staff in key positions aware
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?18
What is the opinion of, and reaction to, sexual harassment
and/or sexual relations between educators
and learners?
Can and do schools or other learning environments
support counselling (either through educators or specifi
c staff)? Do these counsellors receive any training?
Is the school supportive?
What does the school system do to ensure universal
precautions to prevent and safely manage accidents
and injuries in schools19?
Can and do schools encourage and provide for voluntary
counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV?
Is there a policy on how schools should meet the
needs of those affected by the epidemic, including
HIV-infected or AIDS-affected or sick male and
female learners, educators and staff? Are issues of
stigma and discrimination being addressed? How
are schools providing support to those who are
vulnerable (e.g. orphans)? Are people living with HIV
being involved in activities at school level?