Oil companies help curb HIV/AIDS

Two US oil companies are helping teachers and students in the Republic of the Congo (ROC) learn about the risks of HIV/AIDS and how to avoid the deadly virus, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced Monday. Chevron and Nomeco are supporting a project - that UNDP and UNICEF are carrying out in cooperation with the National Programme Against AIDS and the ministry of education - with contributions of more than US $50,000 and dozens of used computers and printers. A statement issued by UNDP noted that “the initiative aims not only to provide teachers and students with life-saving information about HIV/AIDS, but to also to help them though a process of changing risky behaviours.” Through workshops, peer education, theatre groups, HIV/AIDS clubs, participatory research, and service-learning activities, the project has helped increase self-confidence and decision-making skills among students, thus reducing their vulnerability to HIV. Other benefits include a decline in infections with other sexually-transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and drug and alcohol use. “The results [...] are remarkable,” said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Jacques Bandelier. “Teachers and students alike feel empowered after having taken part in the role-playing and discussions on HIV/AIDS.” They also feel liberated, he said, because “the taboo against sexual education in the ROC has finally been broken. Parents and children are discussing issues such as the meaning of fidelity, sexual activity among young adults - and mostly how to stay healthy.” According to UNDP, the HIV prevalence rate in ROC, a country emerging from a decade of civil conflict, is unknown, but estimates and preliminary studies suggest that over 10 percent of teenagers and adults ages 15 to 49 are infected, and the proportion is rising. Ten years of war interrupted all efforts at prevention and detection of HIV/AIDS, and the absence of even basic health services in some regions has only made matters worse. “Urgent action is needed to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS,” noted UNDP. The project targets teachers and students at the primary and secondary level, and focuses special attention on women and girls, as they are particularly at risk. Early marriage and gender inequality often force young girls to engage in unprotected sexual relations with older men, making them more vulnerable to the AIDS virus.