BESE-065: HIV AND AIDS EDUCATION -2013 Presented by www.myignou.in Answer the following questions i) Briefly explain the need and importance of HIV and AIDS education.( 250 words)
There are three main reasons for AIDS education, the first of which is to prevent new infections from taking place. This can be seen as consisting of two processes: Giving people information about HIV - what HIV and AIDS are, how they are transmitted, and how people can protect themselves from infection. Teaching people how to put this information to use and act on it practically - how to get and use condoms, how to suggest and practice safer sex, how to prevent infection in a medical environment or when injecting drugs. A second reason that AIDS education is needed is to improve quality of life for HIV positive people. Too often, AIDS education is seen as being something which should be targeted only at people who are not infected with HIV in order to prevent them from becoming infected. When AIDS education with HIV positive people is considered at all it is frequently seen only in terms of preventing new infections by teaching HIV+ people about the importance of not passing on the virus. An important and commonly-neglected aspect of AIDS education with HIV positive people is enabling and empowering them to improve their quality of life. HIV positive people have varying educational needs, but among them are the need to be able to access medical services and drug provision and the need to be able to find appropriate emotional and practical support and help The third reason people need AIDS education is to reduce stigma and discrimination. In many countries there is a great deal of fear and stigmatization of people who are HIV positive. This fear is too often accompanied by ignorance, resentment and ultimately, anger. Sometimes the results of prejudice and fear can be extreme, with HIV positive people being burned to death in