'Preaching at children about AIDS will not stop the spread of HIV,' warns expert

A leading AIDS expert has said that the current trend of simply 'preaching' to children about the disease could actually hinder efforts to slow the spread of HIV.

Dr Josef Decosas said today that current approaches to teaching youngsters about the dangers of the disease must change. His warning comes on the day that more than 15 million children get involved in a worldwide 'Lesson for Life' on HIV.

"When it comes to prevention of HIV infection, the voices of activists for groups such as sex workers or men who have sex with men have been very prominent," he said. "But we must not forget that the prevention of HIV infection is a priority for the millions of children and adolescents who will become sexually active in the coming years. They are the ones who are at risk of becoming infected, and they are the ones who will be living with the HIV epidemic for the rest of their lives."

Dr Decosas, West Africa Regional Health Advisor for children's agency Plan, said there is anecdotal evidence that those countries where children and young people have themselves taken action to address the spread of HIV are seeing infection rates dropping.

"In the response to AIDS there has, of course, been a focus on children for many years, but it has been very much a didactic approach: teaching them about abstinence and how to put on a condom for example," he said. "Arguing that this is the best way for children to learn about AIDS is just silly.

"There needs to be an approach that listens to children and adolescents. There has to be participation of children in the conception and the delivery of HIV prevention programmes. This is exactly what happens through the GMC's Lesson for Life. Over the past three years there has been an enormous mobilisation of children demanding the chance to present their case and their ideas of what should be done to reduce their chance of being infected in the future.

"In the Philippines, for example, where was little discussion on sex or AIDS in schools or families, the Lesson for Life started a youth movement with its own momentum that has changed the school curriculum. Children are now teaching their parents about HIV."

A voice for children at risk

Dr Decosas who has been involved in international AIDS programs since the mid -80s stressed that children know best what things in their particular environment make them vulnerable to contracting HIV.

"There's a girl from Benin who walks miles to school every day," he said. "This 16-year-old high school student told me: 'I pass a huge sign every day on my two-hour walk to school that reads "Beware of AIDS'. I haven't had anything to eat and don't have money to buy food. If somebody stops in a nice car and offers me a lift I will probably take it.'"

Dr Decosas explained, "Accepting a ride like this puts this girl at risk of being sexually attacked. So I asked her to tell me what she needed to avoid such high-risk situations. She said: 'How about providing school meals and transport rather than putting up a silly sign warning about HIV'"