HIV/AIDS Not as Easy as ABC

This article is based on an interview with members of the Equatorial United Youth Development Association (EUYDA)in the southern Sudan, and explores issues related to HIV/AIDS in the country.

EUYDA is a youth group engaged in the struggle against HIV/AIDS in Yambio County, Sudan. It initiates awareness campaigns, runs a youth sports centre and coordinates activities among young people in the area.

The article mentions the findings of a UN Development Programme knowledge survey on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, carried out in December 1997 and January 1998, which showed that more than half of both men and women who tested positive in southern Sudan were between 20 and 29 years old. It also found that sexual activity began at 10 to 14 years, and that about 41 percent of people had no knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention methods. Condom use was low, unsafe sexual practices high, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occurred frequently but were treated sporadically. HIV infection was found to be highest in females.

Members of EUYDA stated that although some communities "deep in the villages" did not believe HIV/AIDS existed, people living in town were getting the message disseminated through churches, at football matches, events such as music concerts, and on radio, but this is not enough, and often not relevant or realistic. Many factors such as poverty, availability of resources and support materials, and the legacy of civil war were cited as reasons why the HIV/AIDS campaigns are not successful.

"When peace comes, education has to be the first priority. The war denied us education, now AIDS is intervening. This must change," says EUYDA's administrator, Daniel Owudada."

The article states that things are changing in Yambio, albeit slowly. In 2002 the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) made strides in narrowing the gender gap in basic education in the area through the provision of evening classes for girls. The number of girls joining the evening classes has quadrupled, jumping from 1,241 girls in 2001 to 4,070 girls in 2002, a UNICEF report noted. Many of the girls attending the classes had previously dropped out of school, becoming young wives and mothers.

"People want information - they are crying and begging for it," Bill Colford, an HIV/AIDS counselling trainer in Yambio told PlusNews.

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