A Question

macs · Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Kenya

How is AIDS being taclked in your country/

ukevents.net · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 2439

I am no expert but I believe it is a prevention is better than cure policy. Public campaigns targeted to high risk groups.

gnashers · Tell a Friend Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2004 10:55 pm Post subject:

Being tackled fairly well. The early days were full of scare tactics (1980s) and educating people about what aids is but not giving full details. Most people were not made aware of link between HIV and AIDS.

1990 to 1995s tended to concentrate on the needs for safe sex and instilling in people that aids affects heterosexual (straight) people as well (and in greater numbers) as gays.

1995 onwards made people aware that aids is non selective in its victims. Education was extended to the younger people via more in schools and informal discussion groups. Children are made aware of aids from a very early age, 5 or 6 yrs of age upwards.

The biggest drawback still is lack of funding into research, education and also peoples embarrassment regarding sex and talking freely and openly on subjects such as this. Another concern is the lack of teaching/training of members of our health profesions. It tends to be the people who seal with the illness that get the information.

Cor don't I go on??

ukevents.net · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 2439

How is Aids tackled in your country Macs ?

I saw a report that life expectancy in Zimbabwe could fall to below 40 years in five years based on a report from the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/aids/193181.stm

livingfunky · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 14 Location: sussex

TEENAGERS NOT BEING MADE AWARE IN SCHOOLS......

Forty per cent of British 11-year olds have never heard of Aids, according to a study which shows young people are becoming worryingly more ignorant about the dangers of the disease.
A decade after Aids information was placed on the school curriculum, large numbers of adolescents just below the age of consent have little knowledge of how to avoid contracting HIV.
One in five 15-year-olds are unaware that having sex without a condom is 'high risk'.
'It's clear that young people's knowledge and motivation to do something about Aids is declining,' said Dr David Regis of the Schools Health Education Unit, which carried out the survey in 3,600 schools. 'You don't want them to be anxious, you want them to be safe, but they have to have adequate knowledge to do this.'
'I never knew anyone with HIV,' said Clint Walters, who contracted the virus at 17. 'At school all they told us was the biological aspects of sex and pregnancy. I was told to wear a condom or you might get a woman pregnant. I'm sure I got HIV from a guy in London but he didn't look sick.'
Walters, now 21, returned to school after his diagnosis and sat his A-levels a year later with a catheter under his jeans because of bladder problems caused by HIV-related illness. 'You can't describe the pain of the diagnosis. My mum didn't even know I was gay.'
Tim Smith, 22, from Brighton, contracted HIV when he will still a attending Roman Catholic school at 18. 'There isn't a day when I don't regret not being taught about Aids. It was just never discussed at school. The entire focus of our sex education was about getting girls pregnant. They mentioned sexually transmitted diseases but we never got any detail.
'I meet people now who have HIV and at least they're 30 or 40. They had some sort of a life before they were diagnosed. My entire adult life has been about dealing with HIV. I'm healthy and happy but I live with a shadow over me, worrying when the drugs will stop working.'
Terry Joe, who promotes sexual health in Oxfordshire for the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: 'It's terrible that so many young people still don't have an adequate grasp of these issues. It's too easy for sexual health to fall off teachers' agendas because they don't know enough or they lack the confidence to discuss it.
'The lack of knowledge is even worse in poorer groups. We still find young people who think you can't get pregnant if it's the first time. That's the level of knowledge that we're dealing with. There is a huge challenge to normalise contraception and sex, so they can be discussed by parents and teachers without it being a big deal.'
A spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers said: 'One of the worst things that has happened was allowing parents to withdraw their children from sex education.'
Other experts complain that Section 28, the controversial law forbidding the so called 'promotion' of homosexuality, constrains teachers from discussing HIV.
Latest figures from the Department of Health show that 47,000 people in Britain have been diagnosed HIV-positive. More than 14,000 have died although the death rate has slowed with the introduction of 'combination therapy', which mixes treatment drugs. Those who have contracted HIV through heterosexual intercourse are one of the fastest growing groups.
More than 40,000 children were questioned for the survey last year. Sixteen per cent of 15-year-old boys still believed that HIV can be contracted from a lavatory seat. A similar number identified kissing as a risk activity. The number of 11-year-olds who had never heard of Aids was 6 per cent up on 1999.
Experts believe that deaths from Aids of celebrities such as the actor Rock Hudson or the singer Freddie Mercury in the 1980s and early 1990s may have led to greater awareness of the illness. 'Without those celebrity deaths,' said Regis, 'the subject has dropped off young people's radar.'
Clint Walters has set up Health Initiatives for Youth, an information service. Its youngest contact with HIV is just 15.
'It's only when you meet other young people with HIV that for the first time in your life you feel like a normal human being, not a freak,' said Walters. 'It's vital that young people don't find themselves in the same position as me and say they never knew about HIV.'

the observer for brighton uk ......... :(

shellyx · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 184 Location: Sheffield uk

been nebbing through your posts and cool comments, can i just add a little about education in schools?? well i'm gonna anyway :).

As a modern day School Nurse (NO NITS ewwwwwww!!!!!) Im highly involved in the sex education programme within PSHE. Most sex ed is aimed at Y9 (approx 13yrs old) and above but basic awarness is introduced in Y7 (11yrs). I have to admit i haven't been asked to go into any y7 classes, i don't know if this is because they dont wanna encourage relationships at this age or just that teachers dont have a clue what to say.

We really go to town on relationships and safe sex and do i have some funny stories about when we try to demonstrate correct use of condoms :)

As a health proffesional i have to say i'm extreamly concerned about the lack of knowledge these young adults have about STIs, not only AIDS but more common treatable STIs.

Were trying to do our best to raise awareness, lets just hope people understand that Health Promotion is a new role for school nurses so lets wait and see future statistics now.................

WERE FREED FROM NITS!!!!!!!!! whooooooo hooooooooooo

hope all is well

and remember

IF U CANT BE GOOD BE CAREFUL ;)

shelly xx (25 school nurse sheffield)

Leandra50 · Joined: 10 Jun 2004 Posts: 1718 Location: Essex

Hi Shelly must say that they have move on a little but not enough. What they do not realise is that some some people begin experimenting at 10 years-old and some gets interfer with even before then, so having some awareness is vitially for their health. As someone who works on and off - more on with young people out of control what I find is that at age 12 years they are sexually active and have been so for quite a few years. I am a firm believer that sexually education and safe sex should be taught at age 9 years old. Hope someone will take note and do something about the age difference in awareness

leandra50 :)