US-Southern Africa HIV Education Initiative

Image: 

Geography: 

Namibia

Status: 

Ongoing

URL: 

http://www.focalpointglobal.org

Dates: 

2010

One of the most important global health inequity issues impacting our youth and the future of our youth is HIV/AIDS. International health organizations like the World Health Organization and UNAIDS report that approximately 33.4 million people around the world were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2008. More than 5 million people living in South Africa have HIV/AIDS, about 1 million in the US, and an estimated 200,000 people in Namibia. To date there is no single medication nor therapy known to successfully reverse the onset of this illness after it strikes. However, through education, technology, cultural understanding, and leadership, the US-Southern Africa HIV Education Initiative empowers youth to become more sensitive to one another, understand how culture and community impact the myriad of causes leading to HIV/AIDS, and collaborate with one another to reverse this epidemic using innovative and accessible technology.

OBJECTIVES & APPROACH
Students of from cities in the US and Namibia will identify the risk factors and emerging issues of acquiring HIV/AIDS in their communities, build an international partnership through educational exchange about HIV/AIDS, and complete a key activity (a video) at their respective schools and programs that can reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in their communities. Below is how it is achieved:

Awareness

All youth are provided with HIV facts and information from reliable health resources to prepare them for their Skype conference with peers.

Peer Education

US and Namibian youth engage in live discussions via Skype by each group of teens reading and discussing stories from Global Health Narratives, discussing HIV/AIDS epidemic in their respective countries and region, and exploring culture and preconceptions may have of one another.

Call to Action

US and Namibian teens create a video addressing HIV and prevention to shared with their peers participating in the project and with their peers at their schools and programs.