an Eldis Resource

This essay explores the two sides of the relationship between education and HIV/AIDS. The two perspectives discussed are education as a vehicle for reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS and education as itself being threatened by the disease.

The authors argue that educationalists and their institutions cannot hope to be effective in educating about HIV/AIDS, as part of the prevention effort, if they do not protect themselves from the impact of the disease. The priority, then, for an education system in reducing the incidence of HIV infection, is to take the steps needed to protect itself from the the epidemic.Protecting itself will allow it to be in a position to use its influence to effectively address the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The paper discusses the need for education institutions and systems to work to stabilise themselves, through dedicated and effective leadership and management as well as an effective policy framework. It also considers the role of institutions in responding to and mitigating HIV/AIDS through adjusting the curriculum, addressing the needs of vulnerable learners, adjusting to teacher loss and involving the community.

The paper goes on to argue that once institutions are stable, it will be possible to harness education as an HIV/AIDS vaccine. The paper quotes evidence to show that f HIV infection rates tend to go down as time spent in education goes up. The authors consider some of the benefits of education that help reduce the prevalence rate and use this argument to call for action in working towards education for all.

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