UTHERN AFRICA: Focus on sex education - an antidote to HIV/AIDS

      This article discusses issues with HIV/AIDS, young pregnancy and general sexual health in Africa. The age of sexual encounters is getting young and younger each year and this raises an alarm in an area where the lack of widespread information on these issues is causing a high rate of young people with HIV who may not seek access to become aware of this. They then go on to reproduce children who are born with the disease.
     Talking about sex has been a taboo in the African culture, women are shamed for menstruating and parents do not feel comfortable warning their children about the dangers of being sexually active. Teachers are taking the opportunity to discuss this with their students and have been known to give out condoms. This conflicted with the values of some local community and government members and was banned. Even so, teachers are providing students with hard-core facts and "debunking the myths" to ensure that the students are not misinformed by their peers. This is important in raising awareness. One girl states that her boyfriend told her there was no way he could have HIV because he was circumcised.  We all know that school children talk and gossip, this is a subject where all parties need to be accurately informed. This is a big step in the journey away from the raising rates of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases plaguing the continent.


http://www.irinnews.org/Report/50422/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-Focus-on-sex-education-an-antidote-to-HIV-AIDS
4/19/12