The Progress of Nations 2000

11 E P It C' 11 E S S N A 1-1 1 0 N S

dren and other sick people are
abandoned in hosIpitals or othlier
institultioins. Such ignorance anid
intolerance must be stamped
out. Those living with A IDS can
be helped to live full and secure
lives and in turn help others
avoid the disease.
In families where AIDS has
struck, truth must be spoken
about the cause of death. Using
popular euphelnisnis such(i as
'after a lbrief illness' or attrib)ut
ing death to supernatural causes
or other sub)stitutes makes it easy
to ignore the real cause and thus
incur the further loss of life.
Let all of us who are losing loved
ones to AIDS niake it known
that the disease is here and it is
indiscriminate in its attack. By
accepting this, it will lie easier
for more people to participate in
information campaigns to enal)le
those who have so far escaped
AIDS to avoid contracting it.

But behavioural change is only
part of the solution. When people are poor and unemployed,
they feel hopeless. Many 'area
boys and girls' - the street children of Lagos- have told me
that they engage in risky sexual
behaviour out of the boredom
and( the lack of security and
direction that comes with living
on the streets.
The message is clear: To fight
AIDS, we must fight poverty,

with greater energ \ and more
resources than ever before.
Until there is a cure, let ius
raise our voices against HIV/
AIDS in a song heard aroundll the
world. It is a song of defiance and
struggle.
But most of all, it is a song of
hope - the hope that when we sing
forcefully together, the sile(nce
and stigma that nourish this epidemic ('an be liroken, and life
can triumph over (leath. U

people are hungry for informnation onil AIDS. We have seen their
behaviour change once they learni
the facts. In 1993, for instance,
only albout 5 per ('cent of sexually
active Ivorian boys and girls
between the ages of 15 and 19
used (conidomils. By 1998, one
third of sexually active teenagers
in that age grout) reported always uising (con(doms. This was
after AIDS education messages
reache(d them.
Youth engage in risky l)behaviour in part b)ecause of a knowledge gap. Many, parti('ularly
those fromi poor )ackgr()ounds,
lack ways to get accurate information about AIDS. The 59 per
cent of Ivorian )boys and 46 per
cent (of girls wlho attend primary
school do not re(ceive reliable
information on HIV/AIDS there.
Parents, who are ofteni uneducated aind uninfiorned themselves,
cannot help). More than half of
a(lult men and over two third(s of
a(dult women ar(e illiterate and
largely (-it off from knowledge
about AIDS. Cultural obstacles
are another factor. It is still taboo
in many families ill il country
to (liscuss sex or sexually trailsmitted infections. Girls in particular are often reluctant or unable
to enquire a)bout sex for fear of
being considere(d morally 'loose'.
The result is that too many
chil(dren - especially the most
mlarginalized - are ignorant about

how the (lisease spreads. In a recent survey of attitudes about
AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire, sponsored by UNICEF, more than
half of all youths (considere(d it
tihe responsibility of their parents
to provide sex education. However,
9 out of 10 young people said
that they learned about sex from
the media or on "the street."
The lack of accurate information from a parent or another
close family member is a tragedy.
We can, however, turn this into
an opportunity. Because young
people can and do speak honestly to one another about their
concerns when they have the
iniformation and the confidence
to impart it.
Peer e(ducation is one of the most
powerful but underused tools we
have to confront HIV/AIDS.
I have experience working with
young prostitutes in Bouake,
the second( largest city inii Cote
('Ivoire. One of themi, 13-yearold(1 Dominique (a pseudonym),
said she becamie a prostitute
when she was 11.
Dominique is from a poor family; she has nine sib)lings, her
father had lost his job and her
mother was busy caring for a
newborn. Dominique followed a
friend into prostitution, earning
up to $10 a night, a large sum of
money for a girl from a poor family.
Soon, Dominique heard that
she coul(d get sick from having

unprotected sex but she (lid not
know that an infected person
could look normal and healthy;
that HIV is spread by having
unprotected sex with an infected
person; that there is no c(ure; and
that everyone is vulnerable.
I took her to Renaissance Sante
Bouak' (RSB), a non-governmental
organization (NGO) that works
on AIDS issues with the support
of UNICEF. There she saw
shocking pictures of how AIDS
destroys the body. She learned
that at that time one fourth of all
pregnant womeni in the city were
HIV positive.
The information was life changinig. She soon brought two other
young prostitutes to RSB to learn
more about the disease. Now all
three girls have quit )prostitution
and( are in a school run by the
Catholic Church where they
acquire pra(ctical life skills.
Dominique is attend(ling school
and learning to ie a seamstress.
Biut just knowing albout IIlV/
AIDS is not sufficient to c('hange
the way we behave. There is
another factor: power. AIDS
preys most (ion those who lack
power, and girls are the most
vulnerable. They are ofteni pressured or forced into havinig sex,
or are denied(l information they
need to help them niake informed (decisions. Girls frequentlv
lack the skills to negotiate with
boys or men and the confidenlce'e

to challenge thenm; girls fear that
being too assertive will make
them unpopuiilar. E en\\t whei a
girl miakes ani informled (le('ision
to have sex, she l max be linable to
negotiate safe sex.
So it is not enough just to tea('h
skills. The Chihldrei's Parliamenit
of Cite d'Ivoire has malde' it a
priority to talk albout HIV/AIDS
in the context of chiildren's
rights. We explain the Co)Vention oii tihe Rights of thel' Child
and tell younlg people that thev
have a right to lie edlucatedl anid a
right to participate in me('cisions
about their bodies and the('ir lives.
For a young pe'rsonl chall'enging cultural aind sexual ste('reotypes is a tall task. The co('mmlunity must stand behind (oungtl
people as they assert theiimselves.
RSB is recruiting parents, teachers anid childr'en into the(' effort.
Project Miwa (M Child) is helpinig educate younig anld old alike
about HIV/AIDS and( children's
riglhts.
Young people,' espec'iallv adoilescenit girls, have(' bieeni reassured
to see that they are niot al(one(' iii
tackling this frightening disease.
Project Miwa (l(oes more thian
promoite health: It makes AIDS
educ('ation a way oif empoweriing
healtliv ('hildren.
AIDS is challenging us toi findi
new s(olutionis to iour problems.
Togetheli'r, we re'ally can save the'
world. U