World AIDS Day in Sub-Saharan Africa
UNESCO works on HIV prevention throughout sub-Saharan Africa all year-round. Below is a short selection of a few of the activities being implemented by UNESCO offices on World AIDS Day 2011.
The UNESCO education unit in Nairobi, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health, has organized a high-level advocacy forum aimed at highlighting the vulnerability of young people to HIV and the need to provide them with comprehensive information. During this meeting, the Ministry will disseminate to senior Ministry of Education officials and key stakeholders recent data on HIV and other reproductive health issues among young people. Other stakeholders includes line ministries, faith-based organisations, civil society groups, parents' associations, UN agencies and the media.
UNESCO Nairobi is also working with the media to highlight issues around stigma and discrimination, access to education and challenges of sexual and reproductive health faced by HIV-positive learners. Photographs, reports and media coverage will be made available after the activities.
Youth, let us join hands in protecting ourselves and others against HIV for a brighter future!
UNESCO is supporting the Ministry of Education's efforts to display pictures and posters targeting youth health and HIV awareness for World AIDS Day. The Ministry plans to gather staff, students and other beneficiaries in the Ministry and in institutions of higher learning to discuss prevention of HIV, elimination of stigma and discrimination, and how to care and support those living with the virus.
UNESCO's office in Dakar is celebrating World AIDS Day with a five metre-long red ribbon across its façade and is holding trainings and awareness-raising activities throughout the day. The UNESCO Director spoke at an event in Zinguinchor, Casamance region, with First Lady, Mrs. Viviane Wade, where he appealed to 'all men...to participate in this ongoing transformation to avoid' risky behaviour and unprotected sex.
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UNESCO's office in Dar es Salaam is supporting Youth Commemoration, a national event organized by Youth of the United Nations Association (YUNA) of Tanzania. Dedicated to the topic 'Gender and Youth Livelihood in the Realm of HIV and AIDS', the event is taking place from 30 November to 4 December 2011 at the university of Dar-es-Salaam. It will bring together more than 1,500 young people from across the country to form regional youth AIDS committees, and attend capacity-building and awareness raising seminars and voluntary HIV counseling and testing services.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Health are among the invited guests, and UNESCO has committed extra resources to ensure the participation of students from rural areas. Mathias Herman, from UNESCO, will also present findings from the HIV sero-behavioural study in six Tanzanian universities in a paper entitled, 'Addressing mobility, vulnerability and gaps in the integrated response to HIV and AIDS in the Lake Victoria Basin.'
In observance of this year’s theme on 'Getting to Zero: Zero AIDS-related deaths, Zero discrimination and Zero new infections' UNESCO Harare Cluster Office joins other UN agencies in exhibiting posters and materials on sexuality education during World AIDS Day commemorations in Mutare, Manicaland province. The education sector in Zimbabwe embraces sexuality education programmes as important tools for equipping children and young people with the knowledge, skills and values to make responsible choices about their sexual and social relationships in a world affected by HIV.Back to top