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Ans 1: Here are the key things that should be done:

Educating everyone to understand how HIV and AIDS is spread and what we can do to
protect ourselves. We must encourage people to change sexual behaviour and to practice
safe sex at all times.
Making condoms freely and easily available and educating people on how to use them.
Promoting openness so we can break down the stigma and silence surrounding HIV and
AIDS.
Making everyone aware of the plight of people living with AIDS and the problems faced
by their families, and mobilising communities to help care for people who are affected.
Encouraging testing for all people who are sexually active and making sure there is
proper counselling that goes with the testing.
Ensuring people understand their rights and the treatment options once they have been
diagnosed.

There are many organisations that do prevention and education work and they use many different
methods like pamphlets, billboards, radio, workshops, drama, talks and so on. We have tried to
learn from examples from all over the world. It is clear that some programmes are good and
make a real difference while others are just a waste of money. Organisations often spend a lot of
money on media and activities without planning their campaigns properly.

Public education and awareness programmes are most effective when you plan and prepare well
and have the following:

A clear target group that you want to reach and a good understanding of the target
groups culture, language and attitudes
The right slogans and messages to really influence and change the target group
The right methods to reach your target group
The people and resources to implement the programmes

An HIV and AIDS prevention campaign should reach every person in our community in some
way. In the previous section, we listed the things that should be done education, changing
behaviour, condom distribution, promoting openness and testing. Although we must try to reach
everyone, we often do not have the resources to do so. Some groups are more likely to get HIV
and AIDS and it is important to target the groups that will benefit most from each activity.

The part of the campaign that focuses on educating people about HIV and AIDS and changing
sexual behaviour should first target specific groups of people who are most vulnerable. Condoms
should be directly distributed or made available to these target groups. They should be
encouraged to go for counselling and testing. We must ask: Who is most vulnerable to getting
HIV and AIDS?

The same people are most likely to spread the virus to other less vulnerable groups. It is for
example more sensible to target young sexually active women than widows.

Our actions should first target the following vulnerable groups:

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Sexually active youth male and female
Migrant workers, mine workers and transport workers
People with more than one sexual partner especially men
Sex workers
Women who are in unequal relationships with HIV positive men and who are powerless
to negotiate on the use of condoms.
Men and women who are already HIV positive and may spread it to others

Ans 2: HIV is a virus that affects the immune system, specifically the CD4 cells. The CD4 cells
help protect the body from illness. Unlike other viruses that the immune system can normally
fight off, HIV cant be eliminated by the immune system.

The symptoms of HIV can vary greatly from person to person. No two men with HIV will likely
experience the exact same symptoms. However, an HIV infection in men will generally follow
this pattern:

acute illness
asymptomatic period
advanced infection

Acute illness

Approximately 80 percent of people who are infected with HIV experience flu-like symptoms
within two to four weeks of becoming infected. This flu-like illness is known as acute HIV
infection. Its the primary stage of the infection and lasts until the body has created antibodies
against the HIV virus.

The most common symptoms of acute HIV include:

body rash
fever
sore throat
severe headaches

Less common symptoms may include:

fatigue
swollen lymph nodes
ulcers in the mouth or on the genitals
muscle aches
joint pain
nausea and vomiting
night sweats

Symptoms typically last 1 to 2 weeks. If you have several of these symptoms and suspect you
may have been infected, schedule an appointment with your doctor and get tested.

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Asymptomatic period

After the initial symptoms disappear, HIV may not cause any other symptoms for months or
years. During this time, the virus replicates within your body and begins to weaken your immune
system. You wont feel or look sick, but the virus is still active. You can easily transmit it to
others. This is why early testing, even when you feel fine, is so important.

Advanced infection

It may take some time, but HIV may eventually break down your immune system. Once this
happens, HIV will progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is the last
stage of infection. At this point, your immune system is severely damaged, making you more
susceptible to opportunistic infections.

Opportunistic infections are conditions that the body would normally be able to fight off, but that
can be life-threatening to people who have HIV. You may notice that you frequently get colds,
flus, and fungal infections. You might also experience the following AIDS symptoms:

nausea
vomiting
persistent diarrhea
chronic fatigue
rapid weight loss
cough and shortness of breath
recurring fever, chills, and night sweats
rashes, sores, or lesions in the mouth or nose, on the genitals, or under the skin
prolonged swelling of the lymph nodes in the armpits, groin, or neck
memory loss, confusion, or neurological disorders

You can reduce your risk of HIV by taking preventive measures:

Practice safe sex: Use a condom during vaginal and anal sex. When used correctly,
condoms are highly effective at protecting against HIV.
Avoid intravenous drugs: Never share or reuse needles. Many cities have needle
exchange programs that provide sterile needles.
Take precautions: Always assume that blood might be infectious. Protect yourself by
using latex gloves and other barriers.
Get tested for HIV: Getting tested is the only way to know whether or not you have
HIV. If you test positive for HIV, you can get treatment and take steps to reduce the risk
of spreading the virus to others.

Ans 3 a): Education has been identified as a common social vaccine against contracting HIV, resulting in
the more educated less likely to be infected. Accurate information of health risks suggests a negative
linear relationship between years of education and HIV infection rate. UNESCO Director-General made a
statement during 2011 World AIDS Day, identifying education as one of the three primary concerns, and
urging for it to become a full-fledged priority. By implementing educational policies, UNESCO aims to

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make sure all individuals, in and out of formal education, have access to comprehensive HIV education.
Improving the education of HIV/AIDS has become a growing concern, with 1 in 4 students aged 16 and
above stating they had learned nothing about HIV/AIDS in school during a Sex Education Forum survey
in England. The concerns are further stressed since learning about sexually transmitted diseases is the
only aspect of sex education that is compulsory for all secondary schools in England and Wales.

Ans 3 b): There are three stages of HIV infection:

1. Acute HIV Infection

Acute HIV infection is the earliest stage of HIV infection, and it generally develops within 2 to 4
weeks after a person is infected with HIV. During this time, some people have flu-like symptoms,
such as fever, headache, and rash. In the acute stage of infection, HIV multiplies rapidly and
spreads throughout the body. The virus attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells of
the immune system. HIV can be transmitted during any stage of infection, but the risk is greatest
during acute HIV infection.
2. Chronic HIV Infection
The second stage of HIV infection is chronic HIV infection (also called asymptomatic HIV
infection or clinical latency). During this stage of the disease, HIV continues to multiply in the
body but at very low levels. People with chronic HIV infection may not have any HIV-related
symptoms, but they can still spread HIV to others. Without treatment with HIV medicines,
chronic HIV infection usually advances to AIDS in 10 years or longer, though it may take less time
for some people.
3. AIDS
AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. Because HIV has severely damaged the immune system,
the body cant fight off opportunistic infections. (Opportunistic infections are infections and
infection-related cancers that occur more frequently or are more severe in people with
weakened immune systems than in people with healthy immune systems.) People with HIV are
diagnosed with AIDS when they have a CD4 count of less than 200 cells/mm3, they have one or
more opportunistic infections, or both. Without treatment, people with AIDS typically survive
about 3 years.

Ans 3 c): Treatment adherence has become an important medical, financial, psychosocial and
health policy issue. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a period of education and
preparation aimed at maximising adherence before commencing HAART.2 The development of a
practical process or programme that optimises patient goals, improves medication adherence to
HAART and supports patient education through the different stages of drug adherence
counselling is essential.

A systematic approach is essential in promoting drug adherence in HIV patients. The aim of a
drug adherence counselling programme is to enhance adherence to HAART for maximising
treatment outcome. This would achieve the target of improving individual health clinically and
lowering HIV infectivity on a public health level. Drug adherence counselling is preferentially
integrated in other targeted risk reduction measures, which serve the purposes of sustaining the
maintenance of a low HIV risk in the community.

The main objectives of drug adherence counselling are, to:

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(a) Support patients in making informed choice on HIV treatment according to individual needs

(b) Assist patient in adopting drug adherence behaviour

(c) Enhance patient's ability in managing and maintaining the treatment

Ans 3 e): Mutation theory, idea that new species are formed from the sudden and unexpected
emergence of alterations in their defining traits. Advanced at the beginning of the 20th century by Dutch
botanist and geneticist Hugo de Vries in his Die Mutationstheorie (190103; The Mutation Theory),
mutation theory joined two seemingly opposed traditions of evolutionary thought. First, its
practitioners, often referred to as mutationists, accepted the primary contention of saltationist theory,
which argued that new species are produced rapidly through discontinuous transformations. Saltationist
theory contradicted Darwinism, which held that species evolved through the gradual accumulation of
variation over vast epochs. Second, mutationists tended to hold the strict Darwinian line that all
differentiation is for the good of the species, which differed from the saltationist idea that some
organismic variations are inherently undesirable. The second argument was premised on the belief that
more variation provided better opportunities for adaptation to a variable environment. The dovetailing
of seemingly antithetical traditions made mutation theory one of the vanguard movements in early
20th-century evolutionary and genetic theory.

Ans 4: Objectives

Students will do the following:

1. Analyze facts about who gets AIDS, how those populations have changed in the past few decades,
and how AIDS is contracted

2. Advocate for AIDS awareness and prevention

Materials

The class will need the following:

Computers with Internet access

Paper and pencils

Bulletin board

Newsprint and markers

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Procedures

1. Ask students to share what they know about HIV: How does it get transmitted? What happens to
the body once someone contracts the virus? What groups are most at risk? After a brief discussion,
share the following facts with students about HIV/AIDS. Make sure that students understand the
difference between HIV and AIDS. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that severely
damages the immune system by infecting and destroying certain white blood cells. AIDS (acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome) is the final, life-threatening stage of infection of HIV. Simply because
someone tests positively for HIV does not mean they have AIDS. You may want to print out these
facts or display them on an overhead projector. They are available athttp://www.cdcnpin.org/hiv/.

History: The first case of AIDS in the United States was documented in 1981. This disease
was most prevalent among homosexual men in the 1980s, but the spread of AIDS among
that group has slowed in the 1990s. However, the rate of AIDS in other groups, such as
heterosexual men and women and people who inject drugs, continues to rise.
AIDS in the United States: An estimated 800,000 to 900,000 people in the United States are
currently infected with HIV (Centers for Disease Control).
Risk: Of the 40,000 new AIDS cases reported in the United States each year, 42 percent are
men who have sex with men, 33 percent are men and women infected by heterosexual sex,
and 25 percent were infected by injection drug use (IDU).
Youth: Up to 50 percent of all new HIV infections are among those under age 25. It is
estimated that 20,000 young people are infected with HIV every year. That means two
young Americans between the ages of 13 and 24 are contracting HIV every hour.
Women: Women account for 30 percent of new AIDS cases. (They represented only 7
percent of all AIDS cases in 1985.)
Minorities: African Americans account for more than half (54 percent) of new AIDS cases,
and Hispanics account for 19 percent. (African Americans and Hispanics represent only 13
percent and 12 percent of the general population, respectively.)

Ask students to share what they know about contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Review the different ways that HIV is transmitted:

Unprotected sexual contact with an infected person

Transmission from an infected woman to her fetus or baby
Through needle sharing among intravenous drug users
Rarely, through accidents involving needle-stick injuries and other blood exposures of
healthcare providers (Healthcare workers now wear gloves, masks, and other protective
clothing during many examinations and procedures.)

2. Now talk about ways that people can avoid getting and spreading AIDS. Examples:

Avoid sexual contact with anyone who is or might be infected with HIV, or abstain from
sexual contact.
Practice protected sex with a person who is infected with HIV or whose infection status is

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unknown.
Drug users should seek help to stop taking drugs and should never share hypodermic
needles, syringes, or other injection equipment.
Women may take AZT during pregnancy and avoid breastfeeding to reduce the risk of
transmitting HIV to the fetus or baby.
If you have put yourself in a high-risk situation, get tested for HIV to avoid spreading it to
others.

3. On the board or on a piece of newsprint, write the following groups. These are some of the
different populations that can be at risk for AIDS if they do not behave responsibly:

Homosexual men
Heterosexual men
Heterosexual women
Adolescents
Drug users
Minority youth
Pregnant women
Homeless and poor people
Prisoners
Armed forces

4. Divide students into pairs or small groups and have each pair choose one of the populations you
have listed to learn more about its risk for getting HIV/AIDS. They will find more statistics,
background, and prevention resources for each population atWho Gets AIDS?. As students research
a population, have them consider the following questions:

What are the specific dangers for this population?

How has the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS changed for this population over the past several
years? (Provide statistics when possible.)
What behaviors put this population at risk for HIV/AIDS?
How could members of this population change their behavior to avoid getting or spreading
HIV/AIDS?

5. Finally, ask each pair to create a public awareness campaign for that audience. Encourage them to
be creative and consider the tone, language, and medium that would be most appropriate for that
audience. For example, they may create a public service announcement for teens, a brochure for
obstetrics offices, a needle exchange program for public health clinics, a poster for clubs frequented
by homosexual men, a Web page for young professional men and women, or a bulletin board for
their school hallway.

6. Have partners present their campaigns to the class. They should discuss why they chose the
approach they did for their audience.

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