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HIV education in emergency, conflict, and post-conflict contexts

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Abstract

Education programmes that address HIV are increasingly necessary in emergency, conflict and post-conflict (ECPC) contexts. A wide range of social, cultural, and political factors influence the prevention and treatment of HIV in such contexts. We begin this article with a description of each context, drawing on a review of recently published literature and experience coordinating HIV education programmes and research studies in a number of countries. We then provide an overview of challenges and opportunities that pertain to each ECPC context. Several national case study examples are included, highlighting obstacles to avoid and practices that have succeeded in these complex environments. We argue that HIV education can and should play an essential role in overcoming AIDS in ECPC contexts and that it is especially important among populations with high HIV prevalence. The conclusion recommends ways to best meet the needs of nations in ECPC contexts, paying special attention to the complementary issues of capacity building, prevention, treatment, and care and support from a multisectoral perspective.

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Notes

  1. In most developing country contexts, there also exists a large workforce in the informal sector which is mainly agriculture based.

  2. The International Rescue Committee (2008) reports other forms of gender-based violence in ECPC contexts: terrorizing women and children, forcing them into sexual slavery or marriage, or exchanging sex for survival.

  3. In ECPC contexts many teachers and administrators are often either unpaid or underpaid as they continue to serve largely on a volunteer basis. For instance, in July of 2007, of the 17,000 primary- and secondary-level school teachers in Southern Sudan, approximately 15% were qualified teachers.

  4. Education is one sector supported by countries in conflict and other emergency settings as per guidelines from the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). The other sectors covered in the IASC guidelines for HIV in emergency settings include coordination, assessment and monitoring, protection, water and sanitation, food security and nutrition, shelter and site planning, health, and behavioural change communication (BCC) and information education communication (IEC) in the workplace.

  5. Spiegel (2004) notes that prolonged conflict retarded the progression of HIV in Sierra Leone and Angola (p. 336).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for International Studies in Education, University of Pittsburgh, 5714 Wesley W. Posvar Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    W. James Jacob

  2. Democratic Republic of the Congo Office, UNAIDS, 57, Avenue du Livre, Gombe, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

    Yafflo W. Ouattara

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Correspondence to W. James Jacob.

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Jacob, W.J., Ouattara, Y.W. HIV education in emergency, conflict, and post-conflict contexts. Prospects 39, 359–381 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-010-9134-x

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