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Half
a million children to benefit from teachers' Lifeskills training
project
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
August 27, 2007
Almost 500,000
students will benefit as 1500 primary and secondary school teachers
embark on a HIV and AIDS Lifeskills in-service training currently
underway.
Funded by UNICEF
to the tune of US$470,000, the training will offer teachers new
and practical ways to:
- teach Lifeskills
for HIV prevention
- understand
and address the gender dimensions of HIV
- prevent
and combat sexual gender based violence
- and the
development and provision of psychosocial counseling.
In doing so
it will assist the teachers develop skills to share HIV Lifeskills
with children so that they can protect themselves from infection
and continue Zimbabwe's successes in reducing the national
HIV rate.
In 2005 Zimbabwe
became the first country in Southern Africa to record a significant
decline in HIV sero-prevalence. Zimbabwe's adult HIV rate
has fallen from 24.6 in 2003, to 20% today. The fall can be attributed
to: delayed sexual debut for young people, faithfulness between
sexual partners, and increases in condom use.
"This
is a remarkable achievement," said UNICEF's Representative
in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "However the country still
has the fourth highest rate in the world and we must continue to
reach young Zimbabweans with clear and relevant information. That's
what this training will do."
The training
will be conducted by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture,
UNICEF, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and VVOB-ZimPATH.
Set to run nationwide from today to the 31st of August, the HIV,
Lifeskills, gender and counseling training will also provide lifeskills
training packs for the teachers themselves. This will assist teachers
in understanding and dealing with their own vulnerability to HIV
and looks at issues of prevention, care and support, and anti-retrovirals.
UNICEF has partnered
with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture since 1992 to
provide Lifeskills education in schools. This ensures that children
have the necessary knowledge and skills to act responsibly and to
survive an era of HIV. Although the training will accommodate the
Lifeskills needs of all school going children, special attention
is paid to equipping teachers to deal with the needs of orphans
and children who have been abused.
The training
follows successful efforts in 2006, where 1,200 teachers from 18
districts were trained. This year's training is being held
at seven teachers' training colleges in Harare; Masvingo;
Mutare; Mutoko and Bulawayo.
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