SHOULD HIGH SCHOOL LEARNERS BE FORCED TO TEST FOR HIV/AIDS?

A Nurse taking HIV test.

In many background HIV/AIDS infections among adolescents has been increasing. However, adolescents may have difficulty obtaining education about HIV/AIDS, condoms and knowing how to use them and also knowing their status. If high schools would teach more about HIV/AIDS, how it affects a human body and how can one protect him/herself from being infected and offer condoms to their learners and to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and STDs, it would have many positive results as it will encourage them to get tested and know their status without being forced. A survey from 1986 showed that teenagers would be more influenced to know their status and use condoms if they were free, easy to get, and if they were guaranteed confidentiality. Also another survey in 1997 that compared students with access to education about this killer disease, the importance of knowing your status and the use of condoms to those without also showed that having such access to all this things didn’t increase the sex rate but reduce the rate of teenage infections and increased the use of condoms. With more teenagers using condoms every time they engage in sexual activity, teenagers STI/STD and HIV/AIDS rates will decrease as well as teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy will decrease high school drop-out rates and even increase the amount of students going to college. By Education and Making condoms easily accessible to high school students is an excellent investment.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/SouthAfricanschoolchildrentobetestedforHIV999.html

Basically, it is the parents’ job to educate their teens about HIV/AIDS, Sex and its risks, and proper protection. If parents don’t take responsibility, who’s next? Well, that’s what health class in high school is for. Many parents and teachers who educate their students about HIV/AIDS and safer sex do not offer condoms. Year after year more teens become victims to HIV/AIDS, STIs and STDs due to lack of knowledge and necessary tools to protect themselves during intercourse.my question is where does that leaves us? What can be done to overcome this situation? 

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIV TESTING



WOMAN DOING HIV TEST



The importance of HIV testing in my opinion is that if you are infected with the virus the earlier it is noticed the better your prognosis will be. The problem with so many people with HIV is that they never got tested and thus when they discovered they were HIV+ they were into the later stages of the virus and were more likely to experience the complications associated with AIDS.

HIV testing allows those who are infected to have a chance to take control of their infection early on which changes their prognosis from a life threatening infection to a continuing disease that can be managed.

 http://www.hivtest.com/the-importance-of-hiv-testing.html

HIV testing shouldn’t really matter when it comes to you having sex. If you test negative you should still continue to use condoms as obviously you want to keep it that way. I personally assume that everyone is HIV positive and use a condom anyway. An HIV test is just a window of your status at one particular time and therefore you could have done anything to change that so I must still be on high alert.

So while HIV testing is important for knowing the status of your partner it’s even more important for helping to get early diagnoses for those who may be infected and a chance for them to start taking the life saving medication from the start. Do you think knowing your HIV status is a waste of time and effort?

PRISONS ARE A HIGH-RISK ENVIRONMENT FOR HIV TRANSMISSION.

SICK INMATE

HIV/AIDS epidemic plays a major challenge in prisons across the world. Popularity of HIV within prisons is often higher than in the general community, and prison are a high-risk environment for HIV transmission. The number of prisoners living with HIV varies between countries and America has the highest prison population in the world.

However, when it comes to implement this HIV epidemic, prisoners are often neglected and overlooked because prison conditions are often ideal breeding grounds for onward transmission of HIV infection. They are frequently overcrowded. They commonly operate in an atmosphere of violence and fear.tension abound, including sexual tension release from this tension and from the boredom of prison life, is often found in the consumption of drugs or in sex.

WHY IS THERE A HIGHER POPULATION IN PRISON?

Unavailability of condoms, which can prevent HIV infection if used correctly are often considered illegal within prisons. Rape also can cause tearing and bleeding, which can increase the risk of HIV transmission. Injecting drug use and imprisonment are closely linked; many injecting drug users pass through correctional system cause of drug-related offences.

Prevention programme that have been implemented to reduce HIV transmission are hardly available for inmates, and many prisoners with HIV are unable to access life-saving medication ( ARV`s) and conditions are far from being changed because they also hardly to receive the most basic health care as they fear that it will encourage illegal behavior. What can be improved in prisons in order for inmates to get the same treatment like any other people?

MALE CIRCUMCISION FOR HIV PREVENTION.

Nurses in progress for circumcision

Male circumcision refers to the removal ofthe foreskin of the male penis. It is normally done shortlyafter birth,during childhood or even adulthood.It is estimated that 30% of the male worls`s male population is circumcised. Thia accounts for approximately 670 million males. Male circumcision is a very old practice, traditionally undertaken as a mark of cultural identity or because of religious importance.

There is a compelling evidence that male circumcision reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infectins in men by approximately 60%.Three randomised controlled trials have shown that male circumcision provided by well trained health professionals in properly equipped settings is safe. UNSAID recommendation emphasize that male circumcision should be considered as efficacious intervention for HIV prevention in countries and regions with heterosexual epidemic, high HIV and low male circumcision prevalence. http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/malecircumcision/en/index.html

HOW CAN MALE CIRCUMCISION PREVENT HIV-INFECTION?

According to a report " The foreskin`s inner mucosal surface is more susceptible to HIV because it has more immune cells that are vulnerable to HIV infections. The presence of the foreskin acts as a physical barrier, trapping HIV next to the surface of the penis for longer periods. In this mmoist environment, the HIV can survive longer. After circumcision the penile haft become less susceptible to viral infection. the question goes like is male circumcision that important in the sense that all men have to be circumcised?

HIV AND AIDS CAMPAIGNS

HIV and AIDS Campaigns plays an impact in people`s lives because they help promote public Education about these disease, they raise awareness for people to be aware that this disease exist, it also promote openness about AIDS and people living with it so as to give them support and care and helps to motivate other people to get involved to support the community care for orphans.

Most companies address this issue of HIV and AIDS in their Organisation because HIV and AIDS is one of the biggest challeges we face as a country. The rate of infections is rapidly increasing and more and more people are getting ill and dying of AIDS.

Of all people living with AIDS in the world, it is estimated that 6 out of 10 men, 8 out of 10 women and 9 out of every children live in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa is one of the fastest growing rates of infections in the world so this HIV and AIDS Campaigns is to create awareness and reache out to people to educate and inform those who don`t know or understand what HIV and AIDS is all about, how it affects a human body and how to protect your self from getting infected bacause people who are likely to get infected are Tranport workers, Sex workers and migrant and mine workers because they dont get taught about this disease.
http://www.etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/organise/webaids.html

CONDOMS AVAILABILITY IN SCHOOLS.

Thereis a higher rate of  HIV infections amongst students and learners in schools,particularly yhose in high schools and universities. In high schools learners are not fully educated about HIV/AIDS in the sense that parents and teachers lack bacis knowledge of  HIV/AIDS and Condoms,so they are ashamed to talk to learners about what HIV/AIDS is, how it affects a human body and the consequences of unsafe Sex. They feel that condom availability would promote sexual activity and undermine traditional values. In Universities Students are ignorant to know more about HIV/AIDS and get tested to know their health status. Do you think condom availability in schools will help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst Students and Leraners?  http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000006

HIV/AIDS infections amongst Students and Learners is caused by lack of information and lack of the necessary materials to practice safe sex and get educated about the importance of condoms and how to use them. Research shows that Students and Learners becom infected at the age of 16 and 17 because they are in the age were they become sexually active because they have reached puberty and being controlled by the drive to "Experiment".

The Government have launched awareness campaigns of educating Learners, Students and the Communities they live in more about HIV/AIDS, the use of Condoms and the importance of safer sex. Nurses and Councellors are available in Clinics to talk to people and educate them about this killer disease and that will make it easier for them to open up and ask questions on one on one and by that education will help reduce the spreads of HIV amongst Learners and Students in schools.

THE IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS ON EDUCATION AND POVERTY.

HIV/AIDS has a negative impact on our standards of living and education in the sense that it affects the demand for and supply of education. Lack of education spread the circle between HIV/AIDS and Poverty, often raising from decisions concerning schooling, child-bearing, finances and unemployment. A number of studies have measured some of this negative outcomes which suggest that there major inter-generational consequences of households coping strategies.

http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/chronicle/cache/bypass/home/archive/issues2011/hivaidsthefourthdecade/impactofhivaidsoneducationandpoverty?ctnscroll_articleContainerList=1_0&ctnlistpagination_articleContainerList=true

Orphaned children are either droping out of school or not enrolled at all due to the financial contraints of their affected families, and have assume responsibilities of heading or providing for households, in this situation girls are more helpless.

HIV/AIDS is a disease og poverty and it make it clear that poor or disadvantaged people are most likely to be infected and that create a gap between the rich and the poor. The first and the worst impact of HIV/ADIS on Poverty is at the individual and households level. It is amongst the worst diseases because its victims are ill for a long period of time before they die.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001293/129353e.pdf

STOP AND PREVENT THE SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS

It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves and our health by knowing our health status so as to stop and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic. since the discovery of the virus almost 30 years ago, millions of people throughout the world have been infected with HIV, most are adults and some kids and teens are also infected by HIV too. In the world today, AIDS remains an epidemic which means that it affects a large number of people and continues to spread rapidly

.http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/stds/std_hiv.html

The disease is a major health problem in many parts of the world. Genetic research indicates that HIV originated in West-central Africa during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. AIDS was first recognised by the U.S centers for diseases control and pevention in 1981 and, its cause identified in the early 1980s. In 2009 the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated a number of milions of people living with this disease. An estimation of 5.6 million people who were living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. It is also estimated that 310,000 South Africans died of AIDS and most of which are parents.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/stds/std_hiv.html

Most children lost their parents and become orphans because of this killer disease. The loss of parent not only had an huge emotional impact on children but for most families can suffer financially. Looking at the estimation number of AIDS orphans in South Africa where one or both parents are deceased is 1.9 million and HIV/AIDS pandemic is responsible for the deaths and it cause orphans to put pressure on their relatives who becomes their primary carers to relocate from their familiar neighbourhood, and simblings may be split apart and all of which can harm their development.

http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm

Making a change in South Africa`s history of HIV, the South African government launched a number of large scale communication campaigns related to raising awareness of HIV/AIDS such as HIV Counselling and Testing campaign (HCT) as well as broader health-related issues. Since it implementation it has had a notable on the availability and influen of HIV testing and treatment. Although the treatment for these disease can slow the course of the disease because there is no known cure for HIV vaccine but the ARV`s reduces the deaths and infections. Prevention is the key aim in controlling the AIDS pandemic, with Health Organisations promoting safe sex programmes in attempts to slow the spread of the virus.

http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm