At the invitation of Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), UNESCO Bangkok’s HIV Prevention and Health Promotion Unit recently conducted a special lecture regarding “Health Education: HIV and AIDS Prevention” for Thai youth selected for the “The Ship for South East Asian Youth Program.”
“The Ship for South East Asian Youth Program” is a youth exchange programme supported by the Japanese government for youth representatives from ASEAN countries and Japan. Participants travel together aboard the MS Nippon Maru for 51 days, with the objective of improving international cooperation between participating countries.
The MSDHS of Thailand recruit and offer the pre-departure training for Thai attendees. The training aims to provide information for the 29 Thai youth who were selected so they will be ready for the discussions and cultural exchanges with youth from other countries. The training agenda includes topics such as corporate social contribution, international relations, disaster mitigation and environmental threats, as well as health education. Additionally the youth are taught Thai dance so that they may represent and exchange in cultural activities with youth from other countries in the region.
The pre-departure training on “Health Education: HIV and AIDS Prevention” was held on the 11th July 2013, at the MSDHS’ Institute of Social Development in Pathumthani, Thailand. The session aimed to encourage participants to consider holistic health, HIV and AIDS, as well as ending stigma and discrimination against key affected populations (KAPs.) The key objectives for the session were for participants to adopt an informed approach to HIV; to understand the stigma and discrimination suffered by people living with HIV and KAPs; to respect people who are affected by HIV as human beings; and to have the appropriate skills to prevent HIV infection.
The session began with a discussion about the meaning of health and health education. The group included one participant who had graduated from medical school; however the others were from a variety of fields. Participants agreed that not only medical staff could talk about and take care for health needs, but that everyone should be responsible for their own health.
Information about modes of HIV transmission led to discussions regarding situations which may make a person vulnerable to HIV infection. This linked well to the next activity which involved talking about “Risky Behaviors?” Character cards were distributed to each participant. The characters represented by the cards included: people who have never had unprotected sex or shared a syringe; people who have sometimes shared syringes or had unprotected sex; and people who have had unprotected sex with a number of different partners. Participants were required to form a line, considering where they would place their character on a continuum of high risk at one end, to low risk at the other. This was followed by an informative discussion regarding why they placed their character in that particular position. A particularly interesting exchange ensued after one participant raised the question:
“Why don’t we have strategy to eliminate people who are living with HIV?”
This led to a stimulating discussion regarding the value of humanity and human rights. The importance of not blaming or stigmatizing those infected with HIV was explained with participants providing examples such as infection from mother to child transmission.
“Ultimately in order to end the discrimination that makes people vulnerable to HIV, young people must be provided with accurate information so they may have a comprehensive understanding of the issues. It is important they know how to prevent HIV infection, and they need to understand they live in a society with people who are living with HIV and that these people should not be stigmatized or discriminated against.” said Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, HIV and AIDS National Programme Officer, UNESCO Bangkok.
Related Link:
40th Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Programme - SSEAYP 2013