Teachers and HIV & AIDS E-Forum

This initiative draws on the use of information and communication technology to facilitate dialogue and advocacy amongst those interested in helping meet global educational- and HIV/AIDS-related development goals. It is premised on the belief that teachers are instrumental to the ahievement of the Education for All (EFA) goals, and also have a critical role to play in school-based HIV prevention efforts. However, evidence of effective teacher involvement in the HIV and AIDS response is scattered and the lessons learned, as well as their implications, have yet to be comprehensively fed back into joint efforts around EFA. Organisers believe that an e-forum is an effective way of reviewing what progress has been made in involving teachers in the HIV response and considering how this can inform the efforts to achieve EFA and the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to "halt and reverse the spread of HIV" by 2015.

To that end, the organisers are inviting a wide range of stakeholders to join the Forum, including educational planners, policy makers, representatives of teachers' unions, members of HIV-positive teacher networks, teachers and other education sector staff, civil society stakeholders, donors, UNAIDS co-sponsors and other multilateral agencies, and colleagues who work on HIV and AIDS responses in other sectors. The Forum will be animated by e-moderators (IIEP and UNAIDS IATT Secretariat staff), with daily syntheses of Forum discussions and commentary to guide further discussion on these issues.

Participants will discuss 4 interrelated sub-topics (all of which have communication angles/implications): involving teachers in HIV prevention - policy and management implications; coverage and content of pre- and in- service training for teachers; the role of teachers in child protection and promotion of safe and healthy school environments; and supportive and enabling environments for teachers affected by HIV and AIDS.

The outcomes of the Forum will directly feed into the Spring meeting of the UNAIDS IATT on Education, hosted by Irish Aid in Limerick, Ireland, in June 2009. A report on the outcomes of the discussion will also be available on the IIEP's HIV and AIDS Education Clearinghouse following the Forum.

HIV/AIDS, Education.

According to organisers, children and young people who go to school have better opportunities in life and better protection against disease, including against HIV. This protective benefit of education is particularly important for girls. Yet many children do not have access to education - in part due to teacher shortages, poor or nonexistent training, and difficult working environments (i.e. overcrowded classrooms, lack of materials). In many contexts - in particular in sub-Saharan Africa - teachers are themselves affected by HIV and AIDS. Stigma and discrimination, gender inequity, concerns around morality, cultural issues, and relationships between teachers and students often make the provision of school-based HIV and AIDS education highly complex.

In many countries, curricula now include HIV- and AIDS-related content, often as part of a broader focus on life skills and healthy living. Teachers are given an important responsibility in ensuring that children and young people acquire essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes for prevention. In higher-prevalence settings, teachers are seen as pivotal in ensuring that pupils affected and infected as a result of the epidemic have access to care and support.

To join the May 2009 Forum, please send an email message to: hiv-aids-clearinghouse@iiep.unesco.org - stating your name, title, organisation, and nationality. Detailed instructions on how to access the Forum and to contribute to the discussion will be sent. For more information on the IATT Symposium in Ireland, please contact: info-iatt@unesco.org