From early in the epidemic, education has been central to HIV prevention, treatment, and care. This paper reflects on lessons learned over the last 30 years. It signals the limits of high level international commitments to education and HIV and the strategies of information-giving and life skills development adopted in their wake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince very early in the epidemic, education has been identified as central to an effective response. Three different kinds of education can be distinguished: education for HIV prevention, education about treatment, and education to prevent or mitigate the negative effects of the epidemic. This article also considers three different contexts in which education takes place: in schools, at the level of specific groups and across society as a whole.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEducation has long been identified as having a key role to play in reducing HIV-related risk and vulnerability, and in mitigating the impact of the epidemic on affected individuals and communities. This article reflects on progress over a 30-year period with respect to older and more emergent forms of education concerning HIV and AIDS: treatment education, education for HIV prevention, and education to encourage a positive and supportive community response. It points to a number of priorities for the future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA decade after the world's leaders committed to fight the global HIV epidemic, UNAIDS notes progress in halting the spread of the virus. Access to treatment has in particular increased, with noticeable beneficial effects on HIV-related mortality. Further scaling-up treatment requires substantial human and financial resources and the continued investments that are required may further erode the limited resources for HIV prevention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV risk is well documented, but few interventions jointly address these problems. We developed and examined the feasibility of an intervention to reduce HIV risk behaviors among 97 women seeking services for IPV from a community-based NGO in Johannesburg, South Africa. Two versions of the intervention (a 6-session group and a 1-day workshop) were implemented, both focusing on HIV prevention strategies integrated with issues of gender and power imbalance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study qualitatively examines the intersections of risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV infection in South Africa. Eighteen women seeking services for relationship violence were asked semistructured questions regarding their abusive experiences and HIV risk. Participants had experienced myriad forms of abuse, which reinforced each other to create a climate that sustained abuse and multiplied HIV risk.
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