More Schooling

An article I found on HIV in Benin, you can read the full piece at:

http://www.worlded.org/WEIInternet/features/breaking_silence.cfm

Summarised….

Although the pandemic was slow to reach Benin, it is growing at an alarming rate - close to 4% of the population is infected and in certain regions, up to 10%  This is a worrying trend for APEED, Parakou and Benin. The Beninoise Government has brought out some progressive policies with regards to HIV/Aids, however it’s resources are limited. Sex education is not on the agenda in primary schools and can sometimes face opposition from parents even in high schools (much like in parts of the US).

On the positive side, a organisation that has partnered, mentored and supported APEED and More Schooling for the past five years, CAEB (see more information about their organisation in the links section) has been heavily involved in the often controversial topic of HIV/Aids education. They have been touring high schools in Parakou showing a Ugandan film ‘It’s Not Easy’ which aims to combat the stigma associated with openly discussing HIV/Aids. The film recieved a particularly strong reaction at an all-girls boarding facility, ‘Foyer des Jeunes Filles’, which is attached to Lycee Mathieu Bouke. APEED has a strong representation within both of these schools and so we were particularly interested to hear about the intense discussions that the film provoked.

“the girls were very open in the absence of boys, parents, and male teachers. “I wish our parents could be more like friends so we could discuss issues about sex and AIDS openly with them,” said one student. “Many teachers won’t talk about AIDS even though we have a lot of questions,” chimed another.”

The aims of the film viewing were two-fold:

1. An increase in awareness around the issues of HV/Aids
2. Fostering discussion in searching for solutions to the pandemic that are appropriate to Parakou.

I think this second aim is often undersold. Solutions have to come from the community level.  As the quote above shows, breaking down barriers within a community can be extremely difficult. In the coming year, we will publish some more information on this site about APEED’s response to the increasing levels of HIV/Aids infection within the community of Parakou.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 12:50 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.