AIDS education

All educational fora rely on human and social resources for their success. Educators, in all settings, must provide nurturing environments where understanding and compassion are promoted, particularly for people who have contracted HIV infection or AIDS.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) for which there is no known cure, although a treatment is available. Usually, this sexually transmitted infection (STI) first manifests itself as a symptom-free HIV infection. Although the STI is there and the person is a carrier, the person does not sense any pain or inconvenience whatsoever.

Usually, this period is eventually followed by symptomatic HIV infection where a number of possible complaints could be reported by patients to their doctors. Generally speaking, only after a lengthy passage of time, usually a number of years, would full-blown AIDS be seen to develop in HIV positive persons. The current treatment for HIV/AIDS elongates the overall time-period between when one contracts HIV infection to when one develops AIDS.

Sexual encounters provide the most common mode of transmission locally of the HIV virus, since no known cases attributed to needle-sharing due to drug-taking have been brought to the attention of the Health Authorities even though other countries have shown alarming statistics of HIV contracted through this mode of transmission alone.

In cases of pregnancy, in the developed world, mother-to-child transmission is much less likely with today medical assistance than it had been some time previously. Medical procedures are known to be exceedingly effective in preventing the mother from transmitting the STI to her unborn child.

The administration of contaminated blood-products in certain countries is a cause for concern not only to nationals of those countries but also to visitors. In Malta, an extremely high standard of rigorous screening of blood products is carried out, yet it is not the same all over the world. On visiting certain countries, it is wise to check the policies and practices of hospitals within the area, to ensure that the proper screening of blood-products takes place - just in case it comes to be needed!

At the World Education Forum the executive director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, stated that world-wide, education can be a powerful force, perhaps the most powerful force of all in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Education is both informative and formative. Informative education, based on providing accurate and up-to-date information, enters in a fundamental way into every aspect of prevention. People need to know how the virus is transmitted and the different ways of preventing it need to be clearly mentioned. Any discussion concerning barrier methods should respect that they may not always be one hundred per cent effective, even though medical personnel may recommend them when people engage in risky encounters of a sexual nature, so as to thereby lessen the risk of transmission of the STI.

In actual fact, the only way to be safe from contracting the HIV virus through sex is, either to refrain from sex altogether, or to have a sexual relationship where both partners are mutually faithful to one another on their both being certain that their HIV status is negative. It is important that neither partner engages in other risky behaviours (such as needle-sharing/drug-taking) if the couple aspires to remain risk-free.

In our schools, informative education needs to place all the facts in black and white so as to render them comprehensible and accessible to all young people, for, as world-wide statistics show, they are the people who are most likely to be at risk of contracting STIs. This high-risk behavior most probably stems from natural aspirations, such as the desire that young people have to experiment with novel things and to engage in what they consider as adult-like behaviour. Epidemiological data collected by UNAIDS in 2003 show clearly that on a global level, more than half of new infections occur among young people aged 15 to 24. Locally, certain young people have undergone HIV testing from as young as 14, and sometimes even younger. It has been found out that although they would have heard about AIDS, they would be uncertain about what they have to do to protect themselves. This limited knowledge renders them vulnerable to contracting the STI.

Formative education, mainly directed at character formation, appeals to the acquisition of psycho-social and other skills such as the ability to say a firm and decisive no (or yes) when it is called for, the ability to discern people, and the ability to reach out for help, if need be. Formative education is about learning to be. It supports the development of life-affirming attitudes that gear people to make healthy life choices. Marriage as a Holy Sacrament comes very strongly within the domain of formative education. Certainly, the notion of marrying someone, remaining faithful to that person, and living with that person to old age and the end of life, presents a holistic context where neither spouse is at risk from contracting the STI by means of sexual transmission.

At our schools, educators would do well to present regularly updated curricula that respond to the criteria of good practice (contents and methods) in the face of preventing the potential spread of this illness. Curricula must be designed in such a way that they are acceptable to teachers, the target audience (both students and parents), and the community in general. In a wider context, including all fora where education oriented toward preventing the spread of AIDS/HIV is actuated, sufficient means and government funding needs to be mobilized to present an integrated approach that is associated with quality education for all.

Anyone who has any questions, doubts or fears related to HIV/AIDS is encouraged to phone Caritas (Xefaq service) on 21233 933 or 2590 6600 where professional counsellors are available to discuss any issues raised in a strictly confidential manner.

Mr Damian Spiteri is a Caritas counsellor.