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"My Friend with HIV Remains a Friend": HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction through Education in Secondary Schools-A Pilot Project in Buea, Cameroon.

ABSTRACT: The universal access to treatment and care for people living with HIV (PLWHIV) is still a major problem, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of HIV-infected people live. Equally important is the fact that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is recognized to be a major obstacle to successfully control the spread of this disease. We devised a pilot project (titled "My friend with HIV remains a friend") to fight the HIV/AIDS stigmatization through educating secondary school students by openly HIV-positive teachers. In a first step, we have measured the amount and type of stigma felt by the PLWHIV in Buea/Cameroon using the "The people living with HIV Stigma Index" from Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Gossiping and verbal insults were experienced by 90% of the interviewees, while 9% have experienced physical assaults. Using these data and material from the "Toolkit for action" from the "International Centre for the Research on Women," the teachers educated the students on multiple aspects of HIV/AIDS and stigma. The teaching curriculum included role-plays, picture visualizations, drawing, and other forms of interactions like visits to HIV and AIDS treatment units. Before and after this intervention, the students undertook "True/False" examinations on HIV/AIDS and stigma. We compared these results with results from students from another school, who did not participate in this intervention. We were able to show that the students taking part in the intervention improved by almost 20% points in comparison to the other students. Their results did not change.

SUBMITTER: Jacobi CA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7011319 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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"My Friend with HIV Remains a Friend": HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction through Education in Secondary Schools-A Pilot Project in Buea, Cameroon.

Jacobi Christoph Arnim CA Atanga Pascal Nji PN Bin Leonard Kum LK Fru Akenji Jean Claude AJC Eppel Gerd G Mbome Victor Njie VN Etonde Hannah Etongo Mbua HEM Bogner Johannes Richard JR Malfertheiner Peter P

Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care 20200101

The universal access to treatment and care for people living with HIV (PLWHIV) is still a major problem, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of HIV-infected people live. Equally important is the fact that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is recognized to be a major obstacle to successfully control the spread of this disease. We devised a pilot project (titled "My friend with HIV remains a friend") to fight the HIV/AIDS stigmatization through educating secondary school students by openly HIV-posit ...[more]

PMID: 32036732

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Project description:BackgroundThe Human Immunodeficiency Virus /Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is not just a medical problem but its social impact is increasingly affecting its effective management. The fear of HIV-stigma constitutes a major barrier to HIV testing, prevention, uptake and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). We aimed to quantify HIV-related stigma, and identify the factors associated with high HIV-related stigma among persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIVA) and on ART.MethodsA hospital-based cross sectional analytic survey targeting PLHIVA on ART at the HIV-day care unit of the Bamenda Regional Hospital of Cameroon was conducted from February to April 2016. A total of 308 eligible and willing participants were consecutively included in the survey. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire designed from the Berger HIV stigma scale and analyzed using Epi info 3.5.4.ResultsThe mean age of the 308 participants was 40.1±10.2 years. The mean overall HIV/AIDS related stigma score was 88.3?±?18.80 which corresponds to a moderate level of stigma according to the Berger stigma scale. Further analysis revealed that most participants suffered from moderate forms of the different subtypes of stigma including: personalized (49.8%), disclosure (66.4%), negative self-image (50.0%) and public attitude (52.1%) stigmatization. It was estimated that 62.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]?=?57.8-68.9%) of the participants lived with high levels of HIV-related stigma. After controlling for gender, religion, age and occupation, level of education below tertiary (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]?=?0.70 [95% CI?=?0.44-0.91]; p?=?0.036) and a duration from diagnosis below 5 years (AOR?=?1.74 [95% CI?=?1.01-3.00]; p?=?0.046) were significantly associated with high HIV-related stigma.ConclusionAbout three out of every five PLHIVA receiving ART in Bamenda Regional Hospital still experience high levels of HIV-related stigma. This occurs more frequently in participants with low educational status, and who may have known their HIV status for less than 5 years. Anti-HIV-stigma programs in the North West Region need strengthening with intensified psychosocial follow-up of newly diagnosed cases.

Project description:Okra is grown globally for its nutritional and economic benefits. Okra seeds ensure continuous production of the crop but challenges of poor production, adaptability and management may not allow the seeds to express their full potential. There are two seed production systems in Cameroon; the informal and formal. In Buea, the informal seed system is used by most farmers for seed production/utilization and farmers are reluctant to use hybrid seeds. This study aimed to assess the informal seed system of okra and evaluate the adaptability of seed produce from informal and formal systems in Buea. A survey and a field experiment were carried out. The designs for the survey and field experiment were stratified random sampling and randomized complete block design respectively. Data collection for the survey was done using questionnaires and other data collection instruments, while for the field experiment, data was collected on germination, vegetative growth parameters, incidence and severity of pests / diseases and yield. Data analysis for the survey was done using descriptive statistics, while data from the field experiment was done using a two-way ANOVA test and treatment means compared using the Tukey test at 5% probability. Results from the survey showed that women (60%) were mostly involved in seed production by mass selection from two landraces identified. Preservation of seeds was mostly done with the use of wood ash (58%) and insects were the major postharvest pest (76%). For the field experiment, at 66 DAP, Yellen recorded the highest significant number of leaves (13.417), leaf area (771.4 cm2) and the number of branches (5.64). Clemson spineless recorded the highest significant incidence (89.9%) and severity for pests / diseases while Kirikou and Landrace recorded the least incidence (0.0%) and severity. Kirikou recorded the highest significant yield (6.0 tons/ha), followed by Landrace (5.3 tons/ha). These findings reveal the performance of the landrace and provide reasons why farmers in Buea are reluctant to use hybrid okra seeds. The Landrace should certainly have adaptable genes, coupled with the autogamous nature of okra which encourages inbreeding for homozygous traits, which are dominant in expression compared to heterozygous traits.

Dataset Information

"My Friend with HIV Remains a Friend": HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction through Education in Secondary Schools-A Pilot Project in Buea, Cameroon.

Publications

"My Friend with HIV Remains a Friend": HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction through Education in Secondary Schools-A Pilot Project in Buea, Cameroon.

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