The post LABE Tackling Spread of HIV/AIDS through Education appeared first on Nancy Wesson Consulting.
]]>An estimated 34 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and 59 per cent of those above the age of 15 are women. Of that 34 million, roughly 10 per cent are children below the age of 141 Women and girls are physiologically two to four times more susceptible to HIV infection as compared to men and boys2. Furthermore, “Adolescent girls aged 15-19 are six times more likely to be HIV positive compared to boys the same age3”
The staggeringly disproportionate number of females infected with the HIV virus as opposed to males has been shown to be related not only to physiological factors, but points directly the power disparity resulting from cultural attitudes as well as income and educational status. These figures relate to sub-Saharan Africa in general and Uganda is no different in this regard, except that it has gone a step farther in bringing the AIDS pandemic under control. In Uganda, studies show that married women now find themselves more vulnerable due to cultural practices like polygamy, a fact that increases the risk of exposure to HIV/AIDS.
Furthermore, in a study specific to Uganda 4, there was a consistent finding between educational levels and domestic violence: the higher the educational attainment and control over their resources, the more protected women were from domestic violence, which was also related to the presence of drugs and alcohol.
However, in rural areas, where the attitudes toward education are still evolving, educational level actually provoked abuse. The literature is rife with evidence highlighting the relationship connecting domestic violence, drugs and alcohol and gender power imbalances all of which contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS. So what is the solution?
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and a multitude of other organizations working in the areas of gender and children recommend integrated solutions including improved maternal and child health education and medical care combined with general education and sensitization. One of the ways recommended to curb these frightening statistics is to encourage initiatives geared towards promoting education of the girl-child and women.
Any program addressing these issues with women and girl-children must also address these factors with consideration to the male population. Training women and adolescent girls of their rights is inconsequential as long as they men are not involved in the same process.
Therefore:
Through previous community outreach programs, Learning for Life (L4L) and Learning to Live (NPL), LABE has distributed tapes and tape players to approximately 60 schools and Home learning Centres reaching thousands of remotely located beneficiaries who would otherwise have no access to such information.
Women group in Palenga Sub County, Gulu District listen to HIV/AIDS programme using the radios and tapes supplied by LABE. (LABE Photo).
Women group in Palenga Sub County, Gulu District listen to HIV/AIDS programme using the radios and tapes supplied by LABE. (LABE Photo).
The content, offered in Acholi, addresses the issues of:
As an integral part of all of its programs (Mother Tongue Education, L4L and NPL) and in partnership with Straight Talk Foundation, LABE has also distributed pamphlets to each of the schools involved in their programs. Via this partnership alone, roughly 30,000 – 40,000 school children and educational personnel have been reached.
The process of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDs will require deep cultural change because the issues are not just treatment related, but imbedded in deeply held cultural beliefs and attitudes ranging from education to gender roles.
Grass roots programs such as those offered by LABE, Straight Talk Foundation and others combined with government initiatives, workshops and mentoring both men and women are essential in moving forward.
END
1. UNAIDS/WHO, AIDS Epidemic Update,December 2006, UNAIDS, Geneva, 2007, p. 3.
2. Pan-American Health Organization, “Gender and HIV/AIDS,” Women, Health and Development Programme, Fact Sheet, June 2007.
3. World Bank, Global Monitoring Report, World Bank, Washington DC, 2007, pp. 74-75.
4. Human Rights Watch, Just Die Quietly: Domestic Violence and Women’s Vulnerability to HIV in Uganda, August 2003, pp. 2-40.
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]]>Aaaaah – rain AND real Mexican food. Life is sometimes good in Uganda. Tonight several of us were invited to dinner by an ex-PCV, returned as a USAID employee. We suggested our version of Mexican food: you know beans cooked by Happy Nest (none of us has enough propane to cook beans for 4 hours), a little taco seasoning, some chapati to serve as surrogate tortillas…. a few toppings. His response, after some silence, “Well I can make tortillas, have you forgotten that I’m Mexican???”
Well yes – I guess I did. No taco seasoning for this man. We were treated to the “full Monty” of the Mexican food world: hand made corn tortillas from maize flour brought from the States, real Mexican rice, beans he cooked, a vat of guacamole (good avocados here) and fresh Talapia – all followed by a shot of Tequila brought from home.
It is surprising the role food plays when you’re away from home. It can either make you nauseous with the constant rehashing of local fare, or light up your life. Tonight was a light-up-your-life night: partially because of the food, but in equal measure, it’s the camaraderie of cooking together and sitting around a table sharing a meal and conversation. His wife is in the States, as he will be shortly, awaiting the birth of their first baby. And because he’s paid real money and lives in an ex-Pat style house (really lovely) with a real kitchen, it was like Christmas. Thank you Drew! We can live another week…
And this to the background of thunder and a little rain. When I returned home (just) the gods were continuing to smile because I have both power and water. Last night power came and went three times before deciding to stay for more than a few thrilling seconds and we have been hauling water for the last week. It’s rainy season! What’s that about anyway?
Last week I spent in Kampala as part of a committee to revise training for new PC-trainees. An OK week, but spent in the confines of the ever-so-luxurious City Annex and at the new PC HQ during the day. New PC digs are pretty nice! No falling down walls, good view, nice light… And in the coming weeks I’ll be going back for Train the Trainer sessions and then to participate in the actual training of the new group in July. Not sure how I feel about all that, but it should be interesting and hopefully training will be improved. Every activity is another month bringing us closer to a year at site – and many say that’s the turning point. There was some discussion today about service in the north being much more stressful than elsewhere in Uganda. Not having lived elsewhere in Uganda, I couldn’t say. But there is truth to the reality of living in a post-conflict region.
There is a lot of grief and trauma in the air here and it is palpable. The people – as I have aid before – are the most gentle of Uganda, but if you are sensitive at all to the vibes of a place, it’s pretty exhausting in a way that doesn’t always make sense from a left-brained perspective. This place shares some of the characteristics of other post-war areas – including post-war Europe. There is a mind-set that develops with so much aid coming in and it’s not always productive or in any one’s best interest. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be help, it just needs to be delivered in a way that promotes skills and not dependency and learned helplessness. That’ a tricky balance and it continues to be illuminating.
In other news – the day before I left for Kampala was the run-up to Labor Day here – a federal holiday – and great preparations were under way for President Museveni’s visit as seen to the left. Roads were receiving a last minute and long overdue face lift; the marching band was practicing…. So I went to hang out and watch the show – practically in my back yard.
Ten years ago there were 20 million people in Uganda – today, there are 34 million. You get my point. There was also voluntary HIV/Aids testing…. The other upside of condom usage – HIV reduction. From the looks of the streets in Gulu, the use-a-condom campaign is working. ‘Nuf said. Except that we were given a foot long strip of them in our medical kits and why were they were packaged in camouflage design? No doubt so no one can find them in the out-back?
And on that note of query, I’m off to bed.
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