Structured AIDS education inspires self-expression of needs and beneficial changes

Abstract

The accuracy with which the real needs of the people are met, in the prevention and control of AIDS, will determine the success with which the disease is controlled. A structured AIDS education that integrates with formal and continuing education is proposed as away of bringing about long term and lasting behaviour changes. The programme described here has five subjects, namely demystifying the AIDS epidemic, adolescent development and courtship values and ethics, marriage, family/population development and the future with AIDS. These topics integrate well with similar topics in the subject of Social Education and Ethics syllabus which is taught in secondary schools in Kenya. The AIDS education programme is being administered in weekly features articles in one of Kenya's dailies. It is read by about 3 million people some of whom write to the author to express their needs and the beneficial changes that they have experienced as a result of reading the articles. These needs have been grouped into 8 categories and have been responded to in writing