Answer: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that kills or damages cells of the body’s immune system. This virus causes Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) which is a life threatening disease and a major cause of concern for the government as well as general public. As the cure for AIDS is not known yet, it is important that people acquire as much preventive information about AIDS as possible which can be achieved only through education in this respect. HIV/AIDS is a disease whose prevalence shows no signs of abating.
According to some estimates, about 40,000 new cases of HIV are reported every year. And the most potent form of prevention (for there really is no cure) is awareness. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative to focus on education as a tool to spread awareness. Comprehensive HIV and AIDS education beneficial to the student in the following aspects: How to protect and promote one’s health * Basic knowledge of HIV and AIDS – including how to protect oneself from HIV infection. * Learning about treatment and. Social and emotional aspects * How to maintain a healthy level of self-confidence and self-esteem.
* Coping with difficult and risky situations. * Coping with loss. Promotion of equity, including gender issues * Understanding that social, biological, economic and cultural factors affect vulnerability to HIV. * Understanding that men and women have similar rights in society and family. Overcoming stigma and discrimination and promoting human rights * How to show support for HIV positive people and how not to discriminate against or stigmatize people living with HIV. * Understanding the importance of confronting HIV and AIDS in the community.
For the prevention of this disease it becomes important to impart the kind of education that teaches non-discriminatory practices towards people suffering from HIV while simultaneously explaining how one can contract the disease and how to guard against it. Indeed, it is only when each member of society is educated about the disease will we be able to fight diseases like HIV/AIDS in a comprehensive manner. ii) Describe any two modes of transmission of HIV. (250 words) HIV can enter the body through open cuts or sores and by directly infecting cells in the mucous membranes.
Transmission can happen through the mouth, the eyes, vagina, penis (through the urethra), in the anus and rectum. HIV cannot cross healthy, unbroken skin. However, the appearance of HIV in saliva, urine, tears, and sweat is of no major clinical importance, as transmission of HIV through these fluids does not routinely occur, primarily because of the low concentration of HIV in these fluids. Now that we know about the source fluid of the virus we will talk about the mode of transmission of this virus from person to another. It can be said that there are two major modes of transmission of HIV infection from one person to another .
these are: 1. HIV Transmission Through Sexual Activities 2. HIV Transmission Through Non-Sexual Activities HIV Transmission Through Sexual Activities Sexual activity is the most common way for HIV to be transmitted. HIV can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, both vaginal and anal. HIV can easily pass through the mucus membranes in the genitals and the rectum, or may pass through cuts and sores. HIV can also be transmitted through oral sex. Conditions such as bleeding gums and poor oral health increase the risk of transmission through oral sex. HIV Transmission Through Non-Sexual Activities
Blood transfusion and Injection Drug Use Blood transfusions and sharing syringes [needles, works or fits] pose a very high risk for HIV transmission. It is the most efficient way to transmit the virus as it passes blood directly from one person’s blood stream to another’s. Mother to Infant Transmission It is possible for a mother who has HIV to pass the virus to her baby, by exposure to blood and vaginal fluids during birth, or through breast milk during feeding. iii) As a teacher, what value based intervention will you provide for HIV prevention and care? Explain with illustrations. (1000 words)
Answer: Teachers are instrumental to the achievement of the education for all (EFA) goals, and also have a critical role to play in school-based HIV prevention efforts. Teachers are given an important responsibility to ensure that children and young people acquire essential knowledge, skills and attitudes for preventing HIV infection Schools are key settings for educating children about HIV/AIDS and for halting the further spread of the HIV infection. Success in carrying out this function depends upon reaching children and young adults in time to reinforce positive health behaviors and alter the behaviors that place young people at risk.
Schools reach children and adolescents of all ages, and have excellent resources for delivering effective education: skilled teachers; an interactive educational process that occurs over time; a variety of learning opportunities; materials and methods; and the ability to involve parents in their children’s learning. Even today there are people who think that there is a cure for HIV and AIDS. there are many myth relating to how this disease is spread from person to another because of this reason even after much efforts made in this respect we have not been able to achieve the desired result.
It’s the responsibility of every teacher too provide HIV/AID education to its student. And instill such value that help in the student in deciding how to behave toward the disease and any person affected by the disease. Following are some of the steps that a teacher can take to instill such values in the student to wake him aware and promote HIV and AIDS prevention and care. Organize seminar Every now and then schools organize seminars on the current affairs and other important matters of the society.
As a teacher I can organize a seminar on HIV/AIDS to give information about it and help out students in distinguish between myths and facts about this disease. These seminars can include speeches from doctors or persons working to help the people suffering from this disease. By the way of this seminar we can teach the value of equality to the students along with the value of life. Show educational documentaries in classroom In today’s age with the advancement of technology we use a lot of technologies to make the study content more influential and attractive to the students.
There is a constant use of video players or projectors in the classroom for showing educational pragmas and documentaries. Keeping in mind the importance of HIV and AIDS education there has been developed interest in making documentaries which explains all the facts about the disease in such a way which is both easy to understand and attractive to the mind of the student. We can ho these educational documentaries to the student and ask them to make report about what they have learned by the means of that documentary. Organize debates In our everyday teaching we give students the task to prepare for debates.
For which the student themselves or with the help of the teacher assemble facts and present these in their own view. As teachers I can ask the student to organize debates on different topics in relation with HIV and AIDS like: equality to the patties suffering from AIDS prevention or cure, etc… Encourage them to take necessary precaution to avoid being infected with HIV/AIDS Even after there has been a lot of development in the thinking of the masses there still exists a situation in India that people restrain from talking about sex, HIV and AIDS as a general topic.
This orthodox has thinking lead to lack of necessary information to the people to save themselves from several STD’s, HIV and AIDS. As teachers we should encourage our students to be careful about their health and inform them about the necessary precautions that they could take to avoid being trapped in situation like this. Through the medium of play encourage them to not discriminate among people infected by HIV and AIDS On the annual day I can organize a play with the help of the students on the topic of HIV and AIDS.
In this play the students can be asked to act out the different situations which can lead to transmission of HIV infection from one person to another, inform them about the difference between being HIV positive and having AIDS. And at the end it can show the different predations which a person can take to keep himself safe from infected by this disease or to stop further transmission of this disease by him. Steps he should take in case he is infected and also show the ethical way to behave with someone who gets infected from this disease.
The play can be administered in the school as well they can be used as tools to inform the society about the precaution and care they can take to help prevent this disease from spreading any more. Organize rallies I can also rallies in the nearby areas to spread the word about what to do and what not to do for the prevention of this disease. I can ask the students to come up with catchy slogans to attract the listener and help in the overall HIV and AIDS situation.
In combating HIV infection, the crucial responsibility of schools is to teach young people how to avoid either contracting the infection or transmitting it to others and to serve as a catalyst for the development of HIV-related policies that are based on the most current scientific knowledge about HIV and AIDS. In doing so, schools have the opportunity to make important improvements in the quality of health education provided to young people worldwide as a step towards improving global health.