Campaigners seek integration of HIV and education

{jathumbnail off}Campaigners have spoken of a need to ensure more youths get access to knowledge to help them protect themselves by integrating health services like HIV/AIDS prevention into mainstream education. Stakeholders at the Regional Education Summit deliberating on the integration of health in education, which opened in Abuja on Monday, have spoken of high incidence of unprotected sex among youths and an increasing rate of sexually transmitted infections.The group Friends Africa, which hosted a skills building workshop for students and peer educators attending the summit, has said integrating reproductive health services with HIV prevention activities on grounds would contribute to more people getting tested for HIV.The integration would also expand the reach of programmes to more target groups, reduce stigma and increase access to services, said Chioma Nwachukwu, director of development at Friends of Global Fund Africa, or Friends Africa.Nwachukwu also noted integration would provide better utilization for scarce human resources for health.'In communities, we see a lot of ignorance. People are just aware that HIV/AIDS exists, and kills people. It stops there,'said Saidu Dahiru Modibbo, executive director, Centre for Social Development Initiative, based in Keffi. 'People don't have good knowledge.'Target groupsIntegrating HIV/AIDS intervention into mainstream education targets youths, both in and out of school, 'enabling young people attending a clinic for contraception information, antenatal care and/or an STI check-up to learn their HIV status under the same roof or in the same clinic,' said Nwachukwu.Friends Africa calls it a one-stop-shop approach to diffuse stigma associated with an HIV check, thereby encouraging responsible behaviour and reducing the AIDS burden.But stakeholders have noted that awareness among youths is inadequate. Adeolu Adebiyi, a representative of the group YouthRise, said sexually active 'youths are more concerned about pregnancy that about getting HIV.'But HIV is impacting millions of young people, many aged 10 to 35 years. Some 2.419 million children aged under 15 are orphaned by AIDS, according to data from last year's National Sentinel Survey.The survey also estimates 3.15 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with at least 284,000 new infections.'Most of these young people are in school. If we can effectively increase our response in the education sector, I think we will get it right,' said Modibbo.Nigeria's 2008 Demographic Health Survey found that men and women in urban areas were more likely to be knowledgeable about HIV prevention that their counterparts in rural areas. The pattern also varies from region to region.Participants have stressed that Nigeria needs to increase ownership of its health programmes. It is estimated that at least 94% of drugs for people living with HIV come from donors.
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