HIV and AIDS education

HIV and AIDS education
Is there a compulsory HIV and AIDS education
policy? Does it cover educators, other personnel
and learners? Is the HIV and AIDS education policy
a comprehensive one that addresses SRHR?
How well known is the policy? What support is
being provided for implementation? How is it being
enforced?
Are HIV & AIDS and SRHR part of compulsory
teacher training and/or of in-service training? And
a compulsory part of the curriculum? Is HIV and
AIDS education compulsory for learners?
What are the key messages that learners are getting?
Are life skills and citizenship comprehensive
parts of the teaching and learning about HIV and
AIDS?
Does teaching and learning about HIV & AIDS
and SRHR start before learners are sexually active/
before they become susceptible to drug misuse?
Is there resistance or support from the community
or from parent-teacher associations to HIV
and AIDS education at primary level? How are
communities and parents involved?
Has the coverage and effectiveness of HIV prevention,
SRHR and life skills programmes been
evaluated? Have they been strengthened wherever
appropriate?
H ow much money
g o e s t o H I V a n d
A I D S i n e d u c a t i o n ?
Unfunded mandates can be a particular challenge in
moving from policy to practice. In Thailand, a study
of funding to the education sector illustrated that, in
spite of overall commitment by the government to
HIV prevention, funding to the education sector was
minimal and has actually decreased over the past
years, even as prevalence of HIV among young people
increased (UNESCO Bangkok, 2006). This kind of
study can be a powerful tool in generating awareness
and in promoting dialogue and discussion.
Financial resources
What, if any, fi nancial resources are available for
HIV and AIDS in the sector? Where are these fi nancial
resources coming from? What is the level of
ownership that the ‘owners’ have of these funds?
How is the education system monitoring and accounting
for the use of these resources?
How may the fi nances of the education system (income
and/or expenditure) be affected by HIV and
AIDS in the future? How – if in any way – are the
fi nances of the system currently being affected? How
is the sector monitoring these changes?
Has the current situation with respect to HIV and
AIDS led to any changes in the government budget
for the education sector?
Is the funding from other sources – such as the private
sector, community and parents – expected to
change over time? In what way?
Are funds currently allocated to salaries for sick, inactive
educators and other staff, fi nancial support to
dependants, funerals, etc.?
What mechanisms are in place to support coordination
among the different stakeholders implementing
the response (i.e. UNAIDS Cosponsors, bilateral
agencies, NGOs, among others)?