Botswana 
Botswana using Brazil's model to help teachers stop HIV/AIDS

The Brazilian response to the HIV/AIDS scourge has impressed experts, who have urged other countries to copy it, UNDP notes. Botswana, with one of the world's highest rates of HIV infection, is doing just that. More than one third of its adults are infected, according to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, while the rate in Brazil is less than 1 per cent. 

As in Brazil, school offers a critical opportunity for young people in Botswana to learn about HIV/AIDS and how to protect themselves. The new project, scheduled to start in February, aims to widen that opportunity by enhancing teachers' ability to talk to students about sex and sexuality comfortably in the classroom. The African Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Partnership, the United Nations Foundation and UNDP are funding the initiative. 

According to UNDP, "the project will develop interactive television programmes to help teachers facilitate classroom discussions on potentially sensitive HIV and AIDS issues. It will help break down cultural barriers preventing teachers and parents from talking to children openly about sex and sexuality." 

The first phase, lasting from 12 to 15 months, will bring experts from Brazil to Botswana in February to help produce the television programmes and support material for teachers, the UN agency informs. Botswana Television will broadcast the shows in both Setswana and English and make video tapes available for those unable to watch the show live. 

A delegation of nine from Botswana visited Brazil in the fall to learn more about its distance education television programmes focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention. They looked at the content and cultural context of the programmes and their impact in the schools. The team included representatives from the Ministry of Education, Botswana Television, the University of Botswana and UNDP. 

- The strategy they drew up emphasizes the vital role that building teachers can play in breaking the silence and denial associated with HIV/AIDS, UNDP says. "The ultimate goal is to help young people from 10 to 19 stay HIV negative." 

- In our work with Brazil our return on investment has been phenomenal, said Macharia Kamau, UNDP Resident Representative in Botswana. "The fascinating thing about broad-based South - South cooperation is the extra benefits that both parties enjoy through cultural and interpersonal exchange."

Sources: UNDP and afrol archives

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