Spreading messages of HIV/AIDS to the disadvantaged
One of the vital factors for preventing against HIV/AIDS is to spread proper message to large number of population. It is estimated that about 56 million illiterate people of the country are at great risk of HIV/AIDS transmission. Educating them to fight against HIV/AIDS is very challenging. How will such a large number of disadvantaged population will protect themselves from the deadly disease? Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) has designed an intervention targeting disadvantaged population. With the support from UNESCO, DAM has produced a package of user-friendly materials, brochures, leaflets and posters to make the message clear on HIV/AIDS prevention, disclosed its executive director M Ehsanur Rahman. He said that non-formal education (NFE) is an effective tool to prevent HIV/AIDS among millions of illiterate and semi-illiterate people. The materials may be used to impart essential HIV/AIDS education to them who have the right to know the fundamental facts about the disease, he said. Rahman has appealed to the government to use NFE programme as a mass strategy to prevent transmission of the deadly disease into general population. Usually, general people feel shy talking about the issue. NFE, because of its scope for informal interaction, can be a media to share messages of HIV/AIDS and ways of prevention, he said. The new package of strategies combines emphasis on life skill development and change in practices through participatory teaching-learning process and training to make informed decision. The objectives are to improve the quality of learning regarding life skills and HIV awareness for youth, to increase and enhance community support for HIV prevention activities and to increase the capacity of district and community level stakeholders to support HIV prevention activities. In the mean time, workshops were held in six divisions of the country to identify essential learning needs and effective modes of learning. In addition, training manual and video materials on HIV/AIDS from different organisations have been collected to develop a pool of resource materials. An analytical report has also been prepared. Based on this curriculum, moves are going on to develop an effective teachers' training manual and ICT material. At present, through the Bureau of Non-formal Education of the government, a massive project titled Post Literacy and Continuing Education for Human development (PLCEHD) is being implemented in various districts. The HIV/AIDS education package can be optimally utilised through this project to reach a large number of participants to contribute to the immense possibilities of combating HIV/AIDS.
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