Bridging the Gap: Conference Record [Abstract book, International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1998: Geneva, Switzerland)]

662 Abstracts 33354-33360

12th World AIDS Conference

Lessons Learned: An Outreach Educational Programmes in the Secondary
schools are potentially sucessful if students realize their self-reliance, self-confidence and understand proper knowledge and practie to prevent HIV/AIDS.
S33354 HIV/AIDS/STDS awareness campaign among passengers
in major motor parks in Lagos State
Kenneth Nnamsowo-Francis. 14 Adebola Street Off Adeniran Ogunsanya Street
S/L, Lagos, Nigeria
The Issue: The need to increase the level of knowledge about H IV/AIDS/STDs
among passengers - within the Lagos major motor parks due to the misconception
of HIV/AIDS/STDs by carrying out an appropriate awareness campaign.
Project: The poor economical standard and poor condition of the road in Lagos
state has forced the population to resort tot he least means of transportation,
(buses). The project entails coming in contact with passengers at major motor
parks when queuing/waiting for buses to know their opinion and educate them
on HIV/AIDS/STDs. The people trained for these project are drawn from Tertiary
Institutions and out of secondary school youths. IEC materials such as comic
leaflets and preventive measures such as condoms were distributed freely. There
is a need for a follow up to keep the passengers well informed and also pay visits
to those who needs to be properly educated/counselled.
Result: Mobile educators were invited to give detailed information on
HIV/AIDS/STDs to passengers and few motor park hawkers. In addition, calls
came to the office from the passengers and sometimes passengers get involved
in verbal discussion with mobile educators for either counselling or to update
their information on HIV/AIDS/STDs. The project was a success because most
of those who never believed or were ignorant of HIV/AIDS/STDs later embraced
the fact of the issue and accepted the preventive measures, (ABC of safer sex).
Lesson Learned: Most passengers are ignorant of HIV/AIDS/STDs and there
is a strong need to continue this project but these require logistics training of
educators and strategic planning etc.
33355 Curbing the menace of cross border prostitution in the
spread of HIV/AIDS in Borno State of Nigeria
Wosilat Giwa. Off Gombole Road GRA PO Box 1762 Maiduguri Pharmacy Dept
Teaching Hospital PMIB 1414, Nigeria
Issue: The porosity of the Borno State of Nigeria to free movement of immigrants
from the numerous border towns was considered a threat to the campaign against
the spread of HIV/AIDS in the State. (The state is bordered by 3 other Countries:
Cameroun, Niger and Chad).
Objectives: 1) To educate the people including the Custom and Immigration
officers in the border towns on how best to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. 2)
To enlighten the Commercial Sex Workers at the border towns on the preventive
measures available to them on STD/HIV and AIDS.
Project Method: 1) Three border towns were selected: Gomboru Ngala (Chad),
Banki (Cameroun) and Baga. (Niger) 2) Education, Information and communication (EIC) materials were designed in both simple English and Hausa. 3) The
border towns were visited and focus group discussion arranged with the use of
contact persons. As places were far apart, different dates were allocated to each
border town. The most popular hotel in each border town was used so as to
get the full co-operation of the CSW. EIC materials were given out. 4) At later
arranged dates, mini-workshops were organised using some of PHE as resource
persons. More EIC materials were freely distributed. 5) After 3 months, follow-up
visits were made to access the level of understanding of what they have been
taught and how far they are complying. This was done by interviewing them
randomly.
Results: 1) The immigration and custom officers are very happy about their
level of education on the new dreaded disease, AIDS, although few of them still
say that they do not believe in AIDS. 2) The CSWs have become very confident
and talk freely about the use of condoms as preventive measure, although they
complained to be losing customers as some of their clients will not want to use
condom, they claimed.
Conclusion/Lesson Learned: This approach has been identified as one of
the best approaches available to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS through our porous
borders in the state. This project-is supposed to be a continuous one, but due to
financial handicap and transportation logistics, it has been stopped for the time
being.
S33356 Results from newly established WOFAK home care and
clinic programme
Rose A. Achieng, D.O. Onyango, C.O. Kaduwa. WOFAK, PO. Box 58428,
Nairobi, Kenya
Objective: To bring health care as close to the family as possible and alleviate congestion at the health centre of patients with HIV-related opportunistic
infections.

Project: A register of all those clients diagonised positive was made against a
time-table to visit these clients at least for thirty minutes every two weeks. Wofak
counsellors gave each client spiritual, psychological, material and drug support
depending on their condition.
Results: Wofak Kayole Centre is less conjested and the patients are relieved
of the burden of having to walk long distances to the centre in their already poor

health condition. Clients do not feel neglected because they know that at least
someone in the community cares about them.
Lessons Learned: Home visit programmes should at least involve provision
of basic drugs to clients in needy situations.
33357 The validity of sensitization and social support in a rural
community
Ezra Musobozi. Iruura Parish Church of Uganda, PO. Box 57 Fort Portal,
Uganda
Issue: Lack of awareness about HIV/AIDS and the stigma of the disease in the
rural community call for consistent sensitization and supportive efforts.
Project: Lack of awareness of HIV/AIDS, associating it with witchcraft and the
superstitious neglect of the infected people in the rural community of Iruhuura
prompted an intervention under "lruhuura Face to Face with AIDS" project in
1996. The project has 19 counsellors and 10 home care assistants. Strategies
include counselling, sensitization for behaviour change, uplifting income generating activities, visiting homes, patients and delivery of drugs to those who are
unable to go to hospitals.
Results: Since 1996 response to counselling has increased with 97 clients
registered. 58 people with AIDS formed an association with a view to educate
the public and to support each other. 8 couples have undergone blood screening before marriage, rigidity against condom use is breaking with 280 condoms
distributed in December, 1997 and the superstitious influences are decreasing.
The use of local people is vital for the success of community sensitization, and
people with HIV/AIDS have the potential to influence behaviour change if they
are motivated and used. However extreme poverty affects the prevention efforts.
Hence poverty alleviation schemes are needed.
S333591 Using peer educators & community influencers to reduce
high risk behaviour among street children in Calcutta
Sulagna Roy. Amaderbari, 63 Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Calcutta, India
Issue: Street Children vulnerable to HIV/AIDS through unprotected sex require
innovative intervention strategies to protect them against HIV infection.
Project: Street children having low self esteem & no social parameters to follow
& beleiving that the future is not for them, often, get involved in very high risk
behaviour. CINI-ASHA has been working towards prevention of STD/HIV & AIDS
among these children with the help of the following strategies a) Training of peer
educators to pass information on HIV & AIDS & motivate street children to use
condoms. b) Involving community influencers who abuse & dictate the lifestyles
of these children to act as outreach workers & protectors of children & also make
condoms available for the children c) Counselling from time to time to motivate
behaviour change. d) Raising the childs self esteem through education shelter &
care to make them plan for a healthy future e) Running STD clinic to identify, treat
& counsel STD patients.
Results: This multiprolonged strategy has been impressively effective. Within
a year & a half the number of children attending the clinics & the demand for
condom has increased. Knowledge on HIV & AIDS is high among the street
children in project area hence unnumbered potential child victims of STD & HIV
have been protected & still others made aware.
Lessons Learned: To motivate street children to practice safer sex methods
it is important to meet the needs of the child as well involve the community
influencers. This away abusers can be turned to protectors.
33360 HIV positive parents to record important family history
and personal information for their children
Jennifer Ekwau. The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Mulago, Uganda
Objectives: March-May 1996 a lady from London C/O Bandardo's positive options, 22nd Angel Gate, city road visited Uganda with a mission of planning for
children, communications and storing of memories.
Methods: Introduction of a memory book to families infected and affected with
HIV/AIDS in Uganda and to provide a frame work for parents to record important
family history and personal information for their children. Specifically to help
parents with HIV/AIDS who were unlikely to live long enough to see their children
through to independence.
Results: It was accepted and translated to Luganda version (local language).
From visits to numerous AIDS agencies, churches, community organisations and
schools in Kampala and Entebbe it was clear that the memory book concept was
easily understood and welcomed by professional staff, parents and young people
alike. It was again agreed to translate it into more six other languages and it
struck a chord with families who already had a strong instrinct to pass on family
information to their children but who had oral tradition because of the numbers of
relatives who were dying and the subsequent moment of children, sometimes to
virtual stranger.
Lesson Learned: Parents found out that using the memory book helped them

talking openly to their children about their illness and the liklihood of loss and
changes ahead.