Sunday, September 9, 2007
Some Words on Anirudha Alam
Anirudha Alam is a prominent AIDS researcher and working in a national NGO named BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services) as a Deputy Director (Information & Development Communication). He writes and edits more than forty books and a good number of articles on various issues like women empowerment, human rights, education awareness, social development, income generating activities, environment awareness, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS awareness, juvenile literature, short stories and so on. His noteworthy books are Kulsums and Karims (a collection of success stories of disadvantaged people of Bangladesh), Kulsums (a collection of success stories of disadvantaged & destitute women of Bangladesh), The Reflections (a collection of posters on literacy & education of Bangladesh), Towards a New Hope, Social Assistance Message Collection, Social Assistance Advocacy Manual, Eaisab Rat Din (a collection of juvenile poems), Du Sha Bachharer Sera Bangla Kishor Galapa (a collection of juvenile Bengali stories of two hundred years) etc. Website: http://anirudha-alam.blogspot.com
Gender Awareness, Stepping Stone to HIV Prevention
Gender Awareness, Stepping Stone
to HIV Prevention
Anirudha Alam
The spread of HIV and STI is mounting in developing countries through gender inequality and taboos around sexuality. It results in discrimination and stigma associated with drastic poverty and marginalization. Leading to empowerment, happiness and well being, gender awareness can help to promote both rights to be free of violence and coercion around sexuality. Sexual rights, an inclusive framework, guide to have knowledge of the links between different sexuality issues thoroughly recognizing that campaign against sexual violence must continue.
The number of women living with HIV is mushrooming than the number of men through out the world. In 2004, the number of women (15+) living with HIV was 12.7 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. But the number was increased to 13.3 million in 2006. HIV epidemic is disproportionately affecting women of South Africa. Young women (15-24 years) are four times more likely to be infected by HIV than are young men in this region. Prevalence among young women was 17% compared with 4.4% among young men in 2005.
HIV/AIDS entrenches gender inequality, denial and as well as threats to basic human rights. The relationship between HIV, gender and sexuality may be intertwined as a vicious circle. Unfortunately this aftermath limits women’s access to reproductive health information, STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) prevention technologies and treatment. There is no doubt that gender inequality makes women experience poverty and vulnerable to STIs gravely.
According to the findings of BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services), 95% of the rural adolescent girls in Bangladesh are vulnerable to STIs and ill health due to gender discrimination, sexual violence and lack of knowledge regarding reproductive health. They do not know how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation found that adolescent girls are two times more vulnerable to HIV and STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) than the adolescent boys in urban areas of Bangladesh because of sexual harassment. In the name of so called gender equality, their reckless free mixing subculture is making them vulnerable significantly as well.
To curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to challenge the stigmatization and discrimination faced by women living with HIV/AIDS. Counting on collective action at all levels from community to national level, gender equality can strengthen the HIV and STI prevention through a coordinated action for establishing the right of safe sex. In 2005, half of the new HIV infections occurred due to unprotected sex in China. Moreover with HIV spreading successively from most-at-risk population to general population, the number of HIV infections among women is increasing fast.
In the developing countries, most of the women have very little or no knowledge about HIV transmission as well as risk before they are diagnosed HIV positive. Married women do not want to think that they may be at risk of infection. In Bangladesh, the women are induced by their family members to conceive. On the other hand, they feel under presser from healthcare workers to avoid conception. But in most cases, none of them provides necessary information clearly to help the vulnerable women conceive safely or to lessen risk of mother to child transmissions.
Involving women living with HIV, national social welfare organizations, community based organizations (CBOs), academies and policymakers, there may be a promising plan to develop advocacy strategies and extend counseling to women diagnosed in antenatal clinics. It will highlight the necessity to ameliorate the plight as for gendered response to the needs and desires of vulnerable women. Consequently it will be possible to build their life skills to enable them to work with field workers, researchers, monitors, evaluators, policymakers at all levels of program design and implementation, research, monitoring, evaluation and policymaking. Then it would be possible to keep HIV in bay effectively stamping out discrimination, stigmatization and sexual violence through gender awareness as a whole.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website:http://www.bees-bd.org, http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank
to HIV Prevention
Anirudha Alam
The spread of HIV and STI is mounting in developing countries through gender inequality and taboos around sexuality. It results in discrimination and stigma associated with drastic poverty and marginalization. Leading to empowerment, happiness and well being, gender awareness can help to promote both rights to be free of violence and coercion around sexuality. Sexual rights, an inclusive framework, guide to have knowledge of the links between different sexuality issues thoroughly recognizing that campaign against sexual violence must continue.
The number of women living with HIV is mushrooming than the number of men through out the world. In 2004, the number of women (15+) living with HIV was 12.7 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. But the number was increased to 13.3 million in 2006. HIV epidemic is disproportionately affecting women of South Africa. Young women (15-24 years) are four times more likely to be infected by HIV than are young men in this region. Prevalence among young women was 17% compared with 4.4% among young men in 2005.
HIV/AIDS entrenches gender inequality, denial and as well as threats to basic human rights. The relationship between HIV, gender and sexuality may be intertwined as a vicious circle. Unfortunately this aftermath limits women’s access to reproductive health information, STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) prevention technologies and treatment. There is no doubt that gender inequality makes women experience poverty and vulnerable to STIs gravely.
According to the findings of BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services), 95% of the rural adolescent girls in Bangladesh are vulnerable to STIs and ill health due to gender discrimination, sexual violence and lack of knowledge regarding reproductive health. They do not know how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation found that adolescent girls are two times more vulnerable to HIV and STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) than the adolescent boys in urban areas of Bangladesh because of sexual harassment. In the name of so called gender equality, their reckless free mixing subculture is making them vulnerable significantly as well.
To curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to challenge the stigmatization and discrimination faced by women living with HIV/AIDS. Counting on collective action at all levels from community to national level, gender equality can strengthen the HIV and STI prevention through a coordinated action for establishing the right of safe sex. In 2005, half of the new HIV infections occurred due to unprotected sex in China. Moreover with HIV spreading successively from most-at-risk population to general population, the number of HIV infections among women is increasing fast.
In the developing countries, most of the women have very little or no knowledge about HIV transmission as well as risk before they are diagnosed HIV positive. Married women do not want to think that they may be at risk of infection. In Bangladesh, the women are induced by their family members to conceive. On the other hand, they feel under presser from healthcare workers to avoid conception. But in most cases, none of them provides necessary information clearly to help the vulnerable women conceive safely or to lessen risk of mother to child transmissions.
Involving women living with HIV, national social welfare organizations, community based organizations (CBOs), academies and policymakers, there may be a promising plan to develop advocacy strategies and extend counseling to women diagnosed in antenatal clinics. It will highlight the necessity to ameliorate the plight as for gendered response to the needs and desires of vulnerable women. Consequently it will be possible to build their life skills to enable them to work with field workers, researchers, monitors, evaluators, policymakers at all levels of program design and implementation, research, monitoring, evaluation and policymaking. Then it would be possible to keep HIV in bay effectively stamping out discrimination, stigmatization and sexual violence through gender awareness as a whole.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website:http://www.bees-bd.org, http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank
En-gendering AIDS Prevention Gateway to Sustainable Development
http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha/
En-gendering AIDS Prevention
Gateway to Sustainable Development
Anirudha Alam
Nowadays gender discrimination is the key challenge for sustainable development. It widens the likelihood of HIV/AIDS epidemic. So we have to alleviate all the discriminations as regards achieving ownership, leadership and dignity, enjoying freedom, controlling resources, accessing to information, establishing rights, making decision, grooming voices, taking responsibility as well as participating in development activities.
Women are being increasingly affected by HIV. So the reduction of gender-based discrimination has to be integral to the strategic response to HIV/AIDS. Otherwise there is a great scope that HIV/AIDS epidemic may be feminized. The aftermath of feminized endemic is very much enough for ruining overall development achievement. As per the UNAIDS report 2004, nowhere is the epidemic’s ‘feminization’ more perceptible than in sub-Saharan Africa, where fifty seven per cent of adults infected are women as well as seventy five per cent of young people infected are women and girls.
An essential fact is that lack of good governance is the ideal vehicle of deprivation and poverty. Concurrently spread of HIV/AIDS is closely associated with poverty and discrimination. All of these social issues intertwined with different byproducts like stigmatization, violence and sexual abuse affect the endeavors dedicated to establishing just society. People centered planning with a view to ensuring exclusive participation, accountability, commitment and transparency may promote good governance undoubtedly. Capitalizing on this pro-poor planning, HIV/AIDS prevention should be led by gender sensitized policy and strategy. Eventually, as a far-seeing impact it is possible to achieve sustainable development.
A socio-economic study in 2006 conducted by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation shows that lack of reproductive health literacy attributed by social stigma and poverty among adolescents at rural level in Bangladesh makes 98% young women practice risky behaviors. They are growing as unskilled manpower having minimal livelihood development. They are turning into vulnerable especially to STDs (sexually transmitted diseases)/HIV/AIDS on a great scale. Their vulnerabilities due to their too little life-skill are affecting the mainstream process of sustainable development extensively.
Being affected by the negative social and economic consequences of HIV/AIDS, women are compelled to experience various kinds of deceptions and deprivations cruelly. Therefore, a gender-inclusive approach to HIV/AIDS has to play a role to ensure women’s rights to productive resources comprising land, credit, agricultural technologies, and other facilities. In this regard, initiating outreach on HIV/AIDS to rural communities may help mitigate the negative impact of HIV/AIDS on sustainable development as a whole.
Without having gateway to health knowledge and protection comprehensively, women are very much susceptible to HIV infection. They, especially the young women, bear the vulnerability of the reproductive tract tissues to the virus. The stigma of STIs in women makes them hesitate to get proper treatment. They are supposed to bear the maximum burden of caring for sick family members. But often they have less care and support when they themselves are infected severely.
As the stepping stone to sustainable development, in the 1980s a new approach was evolved. This is the mainstreaming strategy which aims to make the goal of gender equality central to all development activities. If AIDS prevention is not en-gendered sustainable development might be endangered. So to en-gender all the development initiatives, especially HIV/AIDS prevention, it is necessary to involve a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and social spheres. It results in that men and women will be benefited equally and inequality will be removed as a whole.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Phone: 8801718342876, 88029889732, 88029889733 (office)
88028050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com
info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Website: http://anirudha-alam.blogspot.com/
Ref: UNAIDS, World Bank, UNFPA, UNESCO
En-gendering AIDS Prevention
Gateway to Sustainable Development
Anirudha Alam
Nowadays gender discrimination is the key challenge for sustainable development. It widens the likelihood of HIV/AIDS epidemic. So we have to alleviate all the discriminations as regards achieving ownership, leadership and dignity, enjoying freedom, controlling resources, accessing to information, establishing rights, making decision, grooming voices, taking responsibility as well as participating in development activities.
Women are being increasingly affected by HIV. So the reduction of gender-based discrimination has to be integral to the strategic response to HIV/AIDS. Otherwise there is a great scope that HIV/AIDS epidemic may be feminized. The aftermath of feminized endemic is very much enough for ruining overall development achievement. As per the UNAIDS report 2004, nowhere is the epidemic’s ‘feminization’ more perceptible than in sub-Saharan Africa, where fifty seven per cent of adults infected are women as well as seventy five per cent of young people infected are women and girls.
An essential fact is that lack of good governance is the ideal vehicle of deprivation and poverty. Concurrently spread of HIV/AIDS is closely associated with poverty and discrimination. All of these social issues intertwined with different byproducts like stigmatization, violence and sexual abuse affect the endeavors dedicated to establishing just society. People centered planning with a view to ensuring exclusive participation, accountability, commitment and transparency may promote good governance undoubtedly. Capitalizing on this pro-poor planning, HIV/AIDS prevention should be led by gender sensitized policy and strategy. Eventually, as a far-seeing impact it is possible to achieve sustainable development.
A socio-economic study in 2006 conducted by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation shows that lack of reproductive health literacy attributed by social stigma and poverty among adolescents at rural level in Bangladesh makes 98% young women practice risky behaviors. They are growing as unskilled manpower having minimal livelihood development. They are turning into vulnerable especially to STDs (sexually transmitted diseases)/HIV/AIDS on a great scale. Their vulnerabilities due to their too little life-skill are affecting the mainstream process of sustainable development extensively.
Being affected by the negative social and economic consequences of HIV/AIDS, women are compelled to experience various kinds of deceptions and deprivations cruelly. Therefore, a gender-inclusive approach to HIV/AIDS has to play a role to ensure women’s rights to productive resources comprising land, credit, agricultural technologies, and other facilities. In this regard, initiating outreach on HIV/AIDS to rural communities may help mitigate the negative impact of HIV/AIDS on sustainable development as a whole.
Without having gateway to health knowledge and protection comprehensively, women are very much susceptible to HIV infection. They, especially the young women, bear the vulnerability of the reproductive tract tissues to the virus. The stigma of STIs in women makes them hesitate to get proper treatment. They are supposed to bear the maximum burden of caring for sick family members. But often they have less care and support when they themselves are infected severely.
As the stepping stone to sustainable development, in the 1980s a new approach was evolved. This is the mainstreaming strategy which aims to make the goal of gender equality central to all development activities. If AIDS prevention is not en-gendered sustainable development might be endangered. So to en-gender all the development initiatives, especially HIV/AIDS prevention, it is necessary to involve a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and social spheres. It results in that men and women will be benefited equally and inequality will be removed as a whole.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Phone: 8801718342876, 88029889732, 88029889733 (office)
88028050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com
info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Website: http://anirudha-alam.blogspot.com/
Ref: UNAIDS, World Bank, UNFPA, UNESCO
AIDS Prevention Spotlighted by Gender Mainstreaming http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha/
AIDS Prevention Spotlighted
by Gender Mainstreaming
Anirudha Alam
Spread of HIV/AIDS results in risk of losing forms of social and economic protection. There is no doubt that onslaught of HIV/AIDS is closely associated with gender inequality and poor respect for the rights of women. So to mitigate the multiple impacts of epidemic, gender mainstreaming should be significantly integrated into HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Eventually, HIV prevention and impact mitigation policy will be able to make the realization of gender equality one of the most important strategies.
Gender mainstreaming for HIV/AIDS is to ensure gender equality in all policies, programs and activities that it would be possible to keep the epidemic in bay. It is the most efficient and equitable means for using existing resources with a view to combating HIV/AIDS internalizing need based approach. At a rough estimate since the beginning of the epidemic, over 10 million women have died from HIV/AIDS-resulted illness. 48 per cent of adults newly affected by HIV/AIDS in 2001 were certainly women. The fact that lack of gender mainstreaming along with domination of social stigma and discrimination creates a tremendous barrier to women making them unable to adopt HIV risk-reducing behavior.
Social stigma and gender discrimination engulf series of possibilities to reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDS successively. The enhanced poverty and developmental decline nourished by gender inequality may make women and girls engaged in risky sexual behavior in lieu of getting money, food and other facilities. Having lack of enough access to quality treatment and care, then they fall into enormous vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) one after another.
As per the finding of Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation, 95 per cent adolescent girls of Bangladesh are drastically vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because of their paltry access to necessary information for protecting their reproductive health. Due to their poverty at the levels of awareness, skill, knowledge, attitude and practice all along, they are being more vulnerable consecutively. When they are enough adult they are not able to ensure their role as potential manpower in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating pro-gender programs and projects.
Considering all the situations related to sexual behavior, social attitudes and praxis, financial empowerment and so on, there are in-depth differences between men’s and women’s access to information, prevention, treatment and care-giving supports. It is much more common in all cultures that commitments for guiding sexual behavior and sexual health are being threatened by gender discrimination. If women and girls have not qualitative reproductive health literacy HIV/AIDS will be turned into as the greatest social problem in developing countries. According to the findings of UNAIDS, as of December 2000, ninety five per cent of all AIDS cases have occurred in developing countries.
Through promoting, facilitating and supporting the implementation of gender mainstreaming, AIDS prevention should be brought about under the spotlight of women empowerment. Gender mainstreaming and women empowerment are obviously complementary strategies. So the strategy of gender mainstreaming within HIV/AIDS prevention should be outlined that women empowerment is ensured.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Phone: 8801718342876, 88029889732, 88029889733 (office)
88028050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com
info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Website: http://anirudha-alam.blogspot.com
Ref: UNAIDS, World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, UNESCO
by Gender Mainstreaming
Anirudha Alam
Spread of HIV/AIDS results in risk of losing forms of social and economic protection. There is no doubt that onslaught of HIV/AIDS is closely associated with gender inequality and poor respect for the rights of women. So to mitigate the multiple impacts of epidemic, gender mainstreaming should be significantly integrated into HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Eventually, HIV prevention and impact mitigation policy will be able to make the realization of gender equality one of the most important strategies.
Gender mainstreaming for HIV/AIDS is to ensure gender equality in all policies, programs and activities that it would be possible to keep the epidemic in bay. It is the most efficient and equitable means for using existing resources with a view to combating HIV/AIDS internalizing need based approach. At a rough estimate since the beginning of the epidemic, over 10 million women have died from HIV/AIDS-resulted illness. 48 per cent of adults newly affected by HIV/AIDS in 2001 were certainly women. The fact that lack of gender mainstreaming along with domination of social stigma and discrimination creates a tremendous barrier to women making them unable to adopt HIV risk-reducing behavior.
Social stigma and gender discrimination engulf series of possibilities to reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDS successively. The enhanced poverty and developmental decline nourished by gender inequality may make women and girls engaged in risky sexual behavior in lieu of getting money, food and other facilities. Having lack of enough access to quality treatment and care, then they fall into enormous vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) one after another.
As per the finding of Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation, 95 per cent adolescent girls of Bangladesh are drastically vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because of their paltry access to necessary information for protecting their reproductive health. Due to their poverty at the levels of awareness, skill, knowledge, attitude and practice all along, they are being more vulnerable consecutively. When they are enough adult they are not able to ensure their role as potential manpower in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating pro-gender programs and projects.
Considering all the situations related to sexual behavior, social attitudes and praxis, financial empowerment and so on, there are in-depth differences between men’s and women’s access to information, prevention, treatment and care-giving supports. It is much more common in all cultures that commitments for guiding sexual behavior and sexual health are being threatened by gender discrimination. If women and girls have not qualitative reproductive health literacy HIV/AIDS will be turned into as the greatest social problem in developing countries. According to the findings of UNAIDS, as of December 2000, ninety five per cent of all AIDS cases have occurred in developing countries.
Through promoting, facilitating and supporting the implementation of gender mainstreaming, AIDS prevention should be brought about under the spotlight of women empowerment. Gender mainstreaming and women empowerment are obviously complementary strategies. So the strategy of gender mainstreaming within HIV/AIDS prevention should be outlined that women empowerment is ensured.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Phone: 8801718342876, 88029889732, 88029889733 (office)
88028050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com
info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Website: http://anirudha-alam.blogspot.com
Ref: UNAIDS, World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, UNESCO
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Building Life Skill through Reproductive Health Literacy Reduces Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS
Building Life Skill through Reproductive Health Literacy
Reduces Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS
Anirudha Alam
Reproductive health literacy has a sustainable preventive impact to promote a healthy lifestyle as well as responsible behavior. It is among the most powerful tools for reducing adolescents’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS through providing necessary knowledge, stimulating positive attitudes and bringing about life skills. Life skill engendered from reproductive health literacy mobilizes efforts targeting to lessen high risk behavior.
Best practices may be adopted undoubtedly through peer education resulting in positive attitude within positive environment. An effective reproductive health literacy approach is multi-sectoral and integrated to address all factors that increase vulnerability as for HIV/AIDS. Vulnerable sexual behavior nourished by ill believes, discrimination, drug and alcohol abuse, peer pressure and so on deprives people to enhance ability to prevent STIs. Ensuring to attain life skill, reproductive health literacy fosters analytical thinking and healthy habits. Adolescents having qualitative reproductive health literacy are very much responsible to gather adequate knowledge and potential expertise to curb infection of HIV/AIDS.
Adolescents need skills necessarily to practice safe behavior through reproductive health literacy with a view to creating self-esteem extensively to foil undesired peer and adult pressure. Thus they may have such core life skills as negotiation, ability of working together, self-awareness, decision-making, critical thinking, bargaining and diversity of creativity through gender session, orientation, training, courtyard meeting for exchanging views and experiences.
Adolescent girls are very much vulnerable suffering from discrimination and depriving of rights due to their social and cultural values and ill believes. Consequently they are mostly drop-out from formal education and made resort to risky behavior. Lack of access to HIV/AIDS information and prevention services provokes them to practice unsafe sexual behavior.
Adolescents, especially the girls, have to have exclusive opportunity to be aware of HIV/AIDS through preventive education that they are able to maintain their future partner’s reproductive and sexual health. Parents often feel embarrassed and hesitate to discuss with their adolescents to teach them about STIs frankly due to their strong religious believes, superstition practices and moral resistance.
Qualitative reproductive health literacy integrating preventive education to promote life skill ensures the social empowerment of adolescents. Academic curriculum should be designed and conducted to stimulate the creativity of adolescent girls through the holistic approach of income generating activities (IGA) internalizing gender awareness. Thus the impact of qualitative reproductive health literacy will sustain comprehensively making them socially empowered. After a certain period completing their secondary education, they will be able to influence their community as a persuasive pressure group to be aware of HIV/AIDS. In the name of women empowerment, this kind of life skill has a far-reaching and promising development output.
Adolescents have the consecutive acceptance and access to the respective community people. They may organize community based organizations (CBOs) in order to raise awareness. In the course of ongoing community mobilization through CBOs, adolescents will be able efficiently to set the community people thinking about HIV/AIDS prevention. Eventually the knowledge on HIV/AIDS can spread quickly and effectively as per desired outcome. Leaving a long lasting mark upon the community people, thus community based HIV/AIDS prevention program will be expanded by way of advocacy and behavioral change communication (BCC) on a great scale. In this aspect, the adolescents have to be trained up to conduct intensive interpersonal communication (IPC) that they may present information on HIV/AIDS prevention in a brief, dramatic and memorable fashion.
It is the utmost important to realize the potential that the academic curriculum has to fulfill the right of adolescents to reproductive health literacy as for attaining life skill. Then the aftermath makes them committed to the campaign of HIV/AIDS prevention seriously.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNESCO, World Bank
Reduces Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS
Anirudha Alam
Reproductive health literacy has a sustainable preventive impact to promote a healthy lifestyle as well as responsible behavior. It is among the most powerful tools for reducing adolescents’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS through providing necessary knowledge, stimulating positive attitudes and bringing about life skills. Life skill engendered from reproductive health literacy mobilizes efforts targeting to lessen high risk behavior.
Best practices may be adopted undoubtedly through peer education resulting in positive attitude within positive environment. An effective reproductive health literacy approach is multi-sectoral and integrated to address all factors that increase vulnerability as for HIV/AIDS. Vulnerable sexual behavior nourished by ill believes, discrimination, drug and alcohol abuse, peer pressure and so on deprives people to enhance ability to prevent STIs. Ensuring to attain life skill, reproductive health literacy fosters analytical thinking and healthy habits. Adolescents having qualitative reproductive health literacy are very much responsible to gather adequate knowledge and potential expertise to curb infection of HIV/AIDS.
Adolescents need skills necessarily to practice safe behavior through reproductive health literacy with a view to creating self-esteem extensively to foil undesired peer and adult pressure. Thus they may have such core life skills as negotiation, ability of working together, self-awareness, decision-making, critical thinking, bargaining and diversity of creativity through gender session, orientation, training, courtyard meeting for exchanging views and experiences.
Adolescent girls are very much vulnerable suffering from discrimination and depriving of rights due to their social and cultural values and ill believes. Consequently they are mostly drop-out from formal education and made resort to risky behavior. Lack of access to HIV/AIDS information and prevention services provokes them to practice unsafe sexual behavior.
Adolescents, especially the girls, have to have exclusive opportunity to be aware of HIV/AIDS through preventive education that they are able to maintain their future partner’s reproductive and sexual health. Parents often feel embarrassed and hesitate to discuss with their adolescents to teach them about STIs frankly due to their strong religious believes, superstition practices and moral resistance.
Qualitative reproductive health literacy integrating preventive education to promote life skill ensures the social empowerment of adolescents. Academic curriculum should be designed and conducted to stimulate the creativity of adolescent girls through the holistic approach of income generating activities (IGA) internalizing gender awareness. Thus the impact of qualitative reproductive health literacy will sustain comprehensively making them socially empowered. After a certain period completing their secondary education, they will be able to influence their community as a persuasive pressure group to be aware of HIV/AIDS. In the name of women empowerment, this kind of life skill has a far-reaching and promising development output.
Adolescents have the consecutive acceptance and access to the respective community people. They may organize community based organizations (CBOs) in order to raise awareness. In the course of ongoing community mobilization through CBOs, adolescents will be able efficiently to set the community people thinking about HIV/AIDS prevention. Eventually the knowledge on HIV/AIDS can spread quickly and effectively as per desired outcome. Leaving a long lasting mark upon the community people, thus community based HIV/AIDS prevention program will be expanded by way of advocacy and behavioral change communication (BCC) on a great scale. In this aspect, the adolescents have to be trained up to conduct intensive interpersonal communication (IPC) that they may present information on HIV/AIDS prevention in a brief, dramatic and memorable fashion.
It is the utmost important to realize the potential that the academic curriculum has to fulfill the right of adolescents to reproductive health literacy as for attaining life skill. Then the aftermath makes them committed to the campaign of HIV/AIDS prevention seriously.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNESCO, World Bank
HIV/AIDS Prevention through Qualitative Adolescent Reproductive Health Literacy
HIV/AIDS Prevention through
Qualitative Adolescent Reproductive Health Literacy
Anirudha Alam
Parents should be thoroughly taught about HIV/AIDS prevention from the Community Learning Centre (CLC). Then they will be able to build up their capacity properly to make their children aware of HIV/AIDS initially. Adolescents have more opportunities to be misguided due to their peer pressure and involved in danger for having inadequate knowledge as to safe reproductive health. So the scopes should be made available for the adolescents that they can learn about reproductive health care through their academic curriculum. In this regard, teachers having more friendly behavior may play an important and essential role coming in close contact with the students. They may arrange peer group session regularly under the respective course curriculum. Operating various kinds of cultural and entertainment oriented events in the campus may add extra attraction stimulating students’ interest in HIV/AIDS Prevention Program. If we fail to take necessary and timely initiatives comprehensively for ensuring qualitative adolescents reproductive health literacy HIV/AIDS prevalence will be climbing higher into new population rapidly in the vulnerable parts of the world.
Qualitative reproductive health literacy comes in to bring about positive attitude among the adolescents to prevent HIV/AIDS. Simultaneously a promising and profound perception is engendered throughout their inner beings to practice general health care regularly. As a result they will not be affected easily by superstitions and ill believes. They can help other people to combat such kind of social problems as well. Early marriage, dowry, polygamy and so on create various kinds of social ailment which gives rise to sexual wantonness. The adolescents may be involved to foil the spread of social deterioration promoted by early marriage, dowry and polygamy. They may create awareness working door to door and arranging courtyard meeting on the importance of reproductive health literacy. Thus community based reproductive health campaign can be strengthened with the help of collective effort of local adolescents. This promising endeavor has far-reaching sustainable impact to lessen the vulnerability related to HIV/AIDS calamity communitywise.
Qualitative reproductive health literacy helps to kindle the inner beings and values of adolescents to do something having a well-thought-out plan. Thus counting on strong and deepest confidence, adolescents begin to learn that they have right to know how they can protect themselves and how to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. Many persons think that reproductive health literacy may lead to greater sexual activity and promiscuity among the adolescents. But it is not true at all. As per the findings of various in-depth surveys, there is no alternative of qualitative health literacy to increase responsible behavior. Responsible behavior makes adolescents interested to know about basic facts on HIV/AIDS and other STIs and the essential skills to protect themselves. Concurrently adolescents are stirred up to know how to safeguard their family members and friends from HIV/AIDS as well as how to make them participate in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.
Community based HIV/AIDS prevention activities should be conducted gathering assistance and support enormously from the community people through giving emphasis on their perceptions especially. In this regard, social mobilization may be ignited organizing community based adolescent welfare organization all along. This strategic plan results in more community participation through the perspective of action research. Community’s participation towards the HIV/AIDS prevention program promoted by social mobilization can equips people to make healthy decisions concerning their own lives. To bring about long-term healthy behaviors and give community people the scope for economic independence and hope, qualitative reproductive health literacy may play a significant role. It helps to slow and reverse the spread of STIs contributing to social upliftment through preventing dowry, early marriage, polygamy and other social diseases.
So to outline an integrated and ideal HIV/AIDS prevention program, participation of community people comprising adolescents having qualitative reproductive health literacy should be ensured any how. As a whole in the aspect of implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention program successfully, it certainly needs to fulfill and guarantee the right to qualitative reproductive health literacy for the adolescents.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNISEF
Qualitative Adolescent Reproductive Health Literacy
Anirudha Alam
Parents should be thoroughly taught about HIV/AIDS prevention from the Community Learning Centre (CLC). Then they will be able to build up their capacity properly to make their children aware of HIV/AIDS initially. Adolescents have more opportunities to be misguided due to their peer pressure and involved in danger for having inadequate knowledge as to safe reproductive health. So the scopes should be made available for the adolescents that they can learn about reproductive health care through their academic curriculum. In this regard, teachers having more friendly behavior may play an important and essential role coming in close contact with the students. They may arrange peer group session regularly under the respective course curriculum. Operating various kinds of cultural and entertainment oriented events in the campus may add extra attraction stimulating students’ interest in HIV/AIDS Prevention Program. If we fail to take necessary and timely initiatives comprehensively for ensuring qualitative adolescents reproductive health literacy HIV/AIDS prevalence will be climbing higher into new population rapidly in the vulnerable parts of the world.
Qualitative reproductive health literacy comes in to bring about positive attitude among the adolescents to prevent HIV/AIDS. Simultaneously a promising and profound perception is engendered throughout their inner beings to practice general health care regularly. As a result they will not be affected easily by superstitions and ill believes. They can help other people to combat such kind of social problems as well. Early marriage, dowry, polygamy and so on create various kinds of social ailment which gives rise to sexual wantonness. The adolescents may be involved to foil the spread of social deterioration promoted by early marriage, dowry and polygamy. They may create awareness working door to door and arranging courtyard meeting on the importance of reproductive health literacy. Thus community based reproductive health campaign can be strengthened with the help of collective effort of local adolescents. This promising endeavor has far-reaching sustainable impact to lessen the vulnerability related to HIV/AIDS calamity communitywise.
Qualitative reproductive health literacy helps to kindle the inner beings and values of adolescents to do something having a well-thought-out plan. Thus counting on strong and deepest confidence, adolescents begin to learn that they have right to know how they can protect themselves and how to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. Many persons think that reproductive health literacy may lead to greater sexual activity and promiscuity among the adolescents. But it is not true at all. As per the findings of various in-depth surveys, there is no alternative of qualitative health literacy to increase responsible behavior. Responsible behavior makes adolescents interested to know about basic facts on HIV/AIDS and other STIs and the essential skills to protect themselves. Concurrently adolescents are stirred up to know how to safeguard their family members and friends from HIV/AIDS as well as how to make them participate in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.
Community based HIV/AIDS prevention activities should be conducted gathering assistance and support enormously from the community people through giving emphasis on their perceptions especially. In this regard, social mobilization may be ignited organizing community based adolescent welfare organization all along. This strategic plan results in more community participation through the perspective of action research. Community’s participation towards the HIV/AIDS prevention program promoted by social mobilization can equips people to make healthy decisions concerning their own lives. To bring about long-term healthy behaviors and give community people the scope for economic independence and hope, qualitative reproductive health literacy may play a significant role. It helps to slow and reverse the spread of STIs contributing to social upliftment through preventing dowry, early marriage, polygamy and other social diseases.
So to outline an integrated and ideal HIV/AIDS prevention program, participation of community people comprising adolescents having qualitative reproductive health literacy should be ensured any how. As a whole in the aspect of implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention program successfully, it certainly needs to fulfill and guarantee the right to qualitative reproductive health literacy for the adolescents.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNISEF
Reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents
Reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents
Anirudha Alam
To reduce HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents, there is a need to develop strategies and methods for effective curriculum focusing on sex education and life skills especially. Internalizing more participatory learning-teaching method, it is felt that a stronger integration of prevention education vis-à-vis sex & reproductive health approaches is essential for improving the high-quality HIV prevention & care. It is estimated that there are 1.2 billion adolescents in the world. Near about eighty seven percent of these adolescents live in the developing countries. More than eighty five percent adolescents of Bangladesh do not know what reproductive health is and how to practice safe sex. Most of them are not aware of how to undermine the vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. To make them free from such encumbrance as HIV/AIDS, we have to ensure a healthy and promising environment. It is believed that if the adolescents have qualitative reproductive health literacy ultimately HIV/AIDS prevention programs initiated by GOs and NGos will be successful.
Only effective education can ensure qualitative reproductive health literacy. This kind of literacy helps adolescents analyze thoroughly basic information, core messages, values and praxis related to HIV/AIDS prevention. Simultaneously they are able to inculcate caring and supportive attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). They possess the basic facts and information bringing about acquisition of knowledge and development of attitudes, values, skills and practices (KAVSP) as to undermining the spread of HIV/AIDS. Consequently they have profound awareness on practicing safe sex, use of condoms, gender equity, harmful effect of early marriage, premarital sex and unplanned pregnancy.
Reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents may be promoted auspiciously through evaluating the attitudes and values within community based social norms/beliefs, cooperation and teamwork. From the salad days, adolescents have to be guided by active and participatory learning that they may analyze, study ideas, solve problems and apply what they learn. It is important to ensure that active learning would be fast-paced, enjoyable and personally engaging. In this regard, cooperative learning may play a vital role to make the adolescents aware of HIV/AIDS significantly. It is one kind of effective group approaches with a view to learning with common objectives, mutual rewards, shared resources and complementary roles. Through this approach, group members are stimulated to help each other to master the lesson or activity. Thus an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect are established. Eventually the learning environment is warm as well as adolescents are made to express their views, opinions, attitudes and behaviors freely.
Adolescence is the prime and sensitive period of so many physical, emotional and cognitive developments. So adolescents have to experience many changes unexpectedly. In most cases, they remain unaware of how to efficiently cope with these kinds of physical and psychological changes. Attitudes to sexuality are being developed gradually during puberty. In this time, if adolescents are misguided or deprived of acquiring reproductive health literacy they will suffer all the time in their lives. There is no doubt that sexual maturity leads to happiness and fulfillment in future personal and social relationships. So there is no alternative for adolescents to learn about issues related to reproductive health from parents, teachers and other elders for being able to understand and develop a healthy attitude.
Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is skyrocketing in the developing countries jeopardized by lack of qualitative reproductive health literacy among the adolescents. But reproductive health literacy itself offers one of the key hopes against HIV/AIDS epidemic as well as its influential eventualities. In fighting the pandemic, reproductive health literacy comprising transfer of skills and attitudes to reduce adolescents’ vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS is the most effective means. It is seriously necessary to reduce the fear of HIV/AIDS any how. Reproductive health literacy can do a lot to combat HIV/AIDS facilitating adolescents in attaining the knowledge, attitudes and skills that they need to delay sexual intercourse, reduce their number of sex partners, prevent illicit drug/substance use and avoid infection by using condoms.
The academic curriculum of the developing countries like Bangladesh should provide adolescents with opportunities to learn and practice life skills, such as decision-making and communication skills, which can strengthen other important areas of early life development. It is expected that different aspects of inclusive HIV/AIDS/STI study must be built-in into all suitable subject areas, such as reproductive health, human rights & legal aids, home economics, gender development & women empowerment, social studies and science.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office)
8050514 (res.)
Website: http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
E-mail: anirudhaalam@yahoo.com
info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Anirudha Alam
To reduce HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents, there is a need to develop strategies and methods for effective curriculum focusing on sex education and life skills especially. Internalizing more participatory learning-teaching method, it is felt that a stronger integration of prevention education vis-à-vis sex & reproductive health approaches is essential for improving the high-quality HIV prevention & care. It is estimated that there are 1.2 billion adolescents in the world. Near about eighty seven percent of these adolescents live in the developing countries. More than eighty five percent adolescents of Bangladesh do not know what reproductive health is and how to practice safe sex. Most of them are not aware of how to undermine the vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. To make them free from such encumbrance as HIV/AIDS, we have to ensure a healthy and promising environment. It is believed that if the adolescents have qualitative reproductive health literacy ultimately HIV/AIDS prevention programs initiated by GOs and NGos will be successful.
Only effective education can ensure qualitative reproductive health literacy. This kind of literacy helps adolescents analyze thoroughly basic information, core messages, values and praxis related to HIV/AIDS prevention. Simultaneously they are able to inculcate caring and supportive attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). They possess the basic facts and information bringing about acquisition of knowledge and development of attitudes, values, skills and practices (KAVSP) as to undermining the spread of HIV/AIDS. Consequently they have profound awareness on practicing safe sex, use of condoms, gender equity, harmful effect of early marriage, premarital sex and unplanned pregnancy.
Reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents may be promoted auspiciously through evaluating the attitudes and values within community based social norms/beliefs, cooperation and teamwork. From the salad days, adolescents have to be guided by active and participatory learning that they may analyze, study ideas, solve problems and apply what they learn. It is important to ensure that active learning would be fast-paced, enjoyable and personally engaging. In this regard, cooperative learning may play a vital role to make the adolescents aware of HIV/AIDS significantly. It is one kind of effective group approaches with a view to learning with common objectives, mutual rewards, shared resources and complementary roles. Through this approach, group members are stimulated to help each other to master the lesson or activity. Thus an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect are established. Eventually the learning environment is warm as well as adolescents are made to express their views, opinions, attitudes and behaviors freely.
Adolescence is the prime and sensitive period of so many physical, emotional and cognitive developments. So adolescents have to experience many changes unexpectedly. In most cases, they remain unaware of how to efficiently cope with these kinds of physical and psychological changes. Attitudes to sexuality are being developed gradually during puberty. In this time, if adolescents are misguided or deprived of acquiring reproductive health literacy they will suffer all the time in their lives. There is no doubt that sexual maturity leads to happiness and fulfillment in future personal and social relationships. So there is no alternative for adolescents to learn about issues related to reproductive health from parents, teachers and other elders for being able to understand and develop a healthy attitude.
Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is skyrocketing in the developing countries jeopardized by lack of qualitative reproductive health literacy among the adolescents. But reproductive health literacy itself offers one of the key hopes against HIV/AIDS epidemic as well as its influential eventualities. In fighting the pandemic, reproductive health literacy comprising transfer of skills and attitudes to reduce adolescents’ vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS is the most effective means. It is seriously necessary to reduce the fear of HIV/AIDS any how. Reproductive health literacy can do a lot to combat HIV/AIDS facilitating adolescents in attaining the knowledge, attitudes and skills that they need to delay sexual intercourse, reduce their number of sex partners, prevent illicit drug/substance use and avoid infection by using condoms.
The academic curriculum of the developing countries like Bangladesh should provide adolescents with opportunities to learn and practice life skills, such as decision-making and communication skills, which can strengthen other important areas of early life development. It is expected that different aspects of inclusive HIV/AIDS/STI study must be built-in into all suitable subject areas, such as reproductive health, human rights & legal aids, home economics, gender development & women empowerment, social studies and science.
Anirudha Alam
Deputy Director
(Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office)
8050514 (res.)
Website: http://www.newsletter.com.bd/anirudha
E-mail: anirudhaalam@yahoo.com
info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
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