GouPing,PsychologyProfessor,ChengduUniversity,Sichuan
Aborderregion’sinitiativetoraiseawarenessonHIV/AIDSthroughsexeducation,beginninginfirstgrade,ischangingmindsets
ByYuNan
Whilemostschoolgirlshavesecrets,Xiao
Ping’s(notherrealname)isalittledifferent.Everyday,withoutfail,shefindsaquietcornertotakeadoseofmedication,hidingheractionsawayfromothers,notwantingtobeaskedquestions.SheisHIVpositiveandonantiretroviraltreatmentfortherestofherlife.
“Myclosefriendsstillplaywithmebutsomeclassmatesandvillagersshunme.Thediscrimination[againstpeoplelivingwithHIV/AIDS]isstilldeepinmanypeople’smindshere,”saidthe12-year-old,wholivesinaremotemountainvillageinYingjiangCounty,DehongDaiandJingpoAutonomousPrefectureinsouthwestChina’sYunnanProvince.
“Threeyearsago,IlearnedthatIhadgotthevirusfrommymom,whodiedofAIDS,”shesaid.“Atthattime,IknewnothingaboutAIDS.However,IgottreatmentintimeandhavesincelearnedmoreaboutAIDSfrommydoctorandteachers.”
XiaoPing’sfamilyisnottheonlycaseinhervillage,closetotheChina-Myanmarborder,thoughitishardtoimaginethisbeautifulplacecouldeverbesubjecttotheharshrealitiesofdrugabuseandHIV/AIDS.Theprefecturehasbeendesignatedahigh-riskareaforHIV/AIDS.
Educationsafeguard
Totackletheproblem,Yingjiang,acountyintheprefecture,introducedsexeducationandclassesonHIV/AIDSpreventioninsixschoolsin2012.Today,theclasseshavebeenrolledoutin200primaryandsecondaryschoolsacrossthecounty.
TheyaresponsoredbytheAIDSPreventionEducationProjectforChineseYouth(APEPCY),anon-profitorganization.Itrunseducationalactivitiesinschoolsusingacombinationofbooks,videosandlectures,whileexploringotherinnovativeeducationalmodelstoraiseyoungpeople’sawarenessaboutAIDSandsexualhealth.
“ItiscrucialtohelpstudentsandtheirparentsunderstandhowAIDStransmitsandhowtoprotectthemselves,”saidYangChunyan,headofAPEPCY’sworkstationinYingjiang.“Butthemostimportantthingistoeliminatethediscriminationagainsttheinfected.”
NieYongxianisamongthefirstbatchofteachersinYingjiangtoreceivetraininginAIDSpreventionandsexeducationteaching.
“StudentsurgentlyneedtoknowaboutthedangersofHIV/AIDSandhowtotakeprecautionsagainstthedisease,”saidtheteacherfromYingjiangNo.3JuniorMiddleSchool.SincetheregionfacesaseriousdrugproblemandapotentialHIV/AIDSepidemic,shesaiditisalsoimportanttotellstudentsofthedangersofdrugsabuse,especiallythenewdrugsbeingcirculated,andurgethemtobeontheirguard.
Sexeducationbeginsfromthefirstgrade,whereitmainlydealswithphysicalhygiene.Secondgraderslearnmoreaboutsexualmaturityaswellasconceptsofrelationshipsandmarriage,Nieadded.
“Ithinkitisurgentandnecessarytotellthemmoreaboutpregnancyandcontraception,”shesaid.
To16-year-oldLuoTong,theclassesgiveninthespeciallydesignatedclassroomareabsorbing.“Iwastaughthowtoavoidunintendedpregnancyandhowtoprotectmyselffromsexualharassment,”shetoldChinAfrica.“[Thelessons]includetopicsrelatedtopuberty,whichmyparentsaretooshytodiscusswithme.”
APEPCY'sco-founderZhangYinjunonaschoolvisitinYingjiangNie’sworkgoesbeyondtheclassroom.ShealsogivestalksonHIV/AIDSpreventionandcontrolandsexeducationtovillagersinYingjiang.Shethinksthetalksareanotherwayoffosteringgreaterawarenessofthediseaseandthechannelsthroughwhichtheinfectioncanoccur.TheyalsohelpfightdiscriminationagainstpeoplelivingwithHIV/AIDS.
GuoDinglian,avillagemotherwiththreechildren,attendsthelecturesthreetimesamonth.
“SomeofthecasesofHIVinfectionamongdrugabusershappenedaroundus.Somypriorityistotakecareofmyfamilyandeducatemykids,”shesaid.
Thankstothetimelycounselingprovidedbytheclasses,XiaoPingisabletounderstandherHIVpositivestatusandhandlehernegativefeelingsbetter.
SexeducationiskeytopreventionandcontrolofAIDS,saysZhangYinjun,co-founderandManagingDirectorofAPEPCY.“Sexeducationdoesnotreceiveadequateattentionandresourcesastraditionally,sexhasbeenataboosubjectinChina,”Zhangsaid.“Oneisnotsupposedtotalkaboutitopenly,especiallywithchildren.”
Newhigh-riskgroup
SheispassionateabouttheworktoarrestthespreadofHIV/AIDSamongyoungpeoplethroughsexeducation.However,whentheprojectwasinitsinfancy,manypeoplethoughtshewasmadbecauseshedealtwithtabootopicseveryday.Yet,shesoldieredon.“IjustknowthatwhatIamdoingisright,”shesaid.
Inanalarmingtrend,HIV/AIDSamongyoungpeopleisontherisenationwide.
StatisticsfromtheChineseCenterforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)showinfectionsamongpeopleaged15-24rosebyabout14percentatanaverageannualratefrom2011to2015.Teenagers-whoarepronetobecomingsexuallyactiveaswellasbetemptedbydrugs-arethenewhigh-riskgroup.
StudentsofNo.1HighSchoolinShaheCity,HebeiProvince,showthered-ribbonbadgestheyhavemade,theinternationalsymbolofcommitmenttothefightagainstHIV/AIDSChinareported575,000HIV-positivecasesattheendofOctober2015.TheCDCestimatesthenumberofpeoplelivingwithHIV/AIDSinChinacouldaccountforasmuchas0.06percentofthetotalpopulation.
Inthefirst10monthslastyear,theestimatednumberofnewinfectionsontheChinesemainlandamongpeopleaged15-24exceeded14,000.Roughly,82percentoftheinfectionsresultedfromactsofhomosexuality.
ThedatasuggestssexualtransmissionwasthemainchannelforthespreadoftheHIV,overtakingdruguseandcontaminatedbloodtransfusions.
Zhangsaysmoreyoungpeoplearebeinginfectedduetothelackofsoundsexeducationandfeelsschoolsshouldsharetheburdenofspreadinglessonsinsexeducationwithparents.
ZhangLiming,DeputyDirectorofYingjiangCountyEducationBureau,saidAIDSpreventionandsexeducationhavebeengivenmorepriorityinthelocalschoolcurriculum.Inaddition,theschoolsarepartneringwithNGOstotrainmoreteacherstotakesuchclasses.
GouPing,apsychologyprofessoratChengduUniversityinsouthwestChina’sSichuanProvince,agreessexeducationisvital.“Itiscrucial[forChineseyouth]tounderstandtheimportanceofsafesexfromanearlyage,”Gousaid.“Withpropersexeducation,theywilllearnhowtoprotectthem-selvesandtheirpartnersduringsex,andtheHIV/AIDSpreventionplanwillfallintoplace.”
Arolemodel
Overthepastdecade,APEPCYhasbeenendeavoringtointroduceAIDSpreventionmethodsandsexeducationintothenation’seducationsystembyorganizingclassesfromkindergartenstouniversities.
Sinceitwasstartedin2006,APEPCYhassponsored681designatedclassroomsforAIDSpreventioninitiativesnationwide.Ithasalsobuiltup11basesandninebranchesacrossthecountry,whichofferprofessionaltraining,compiletextbooks,andsupportteachingandresearchactivities.
ChenZhongdan,UNAIDSstrategicinformationadviser,speakshighlyofAPEPCY.
“WeareplanningtointroduceAPEPCY’sexperiencetotherestofthecountryandothercountriesasYingjiang’ssolutionhasbeeneffective,”hesaid.
ZhangYinjunhasfurtherplans.“IhopetomakebetteruseofdomesticandinternationalresourcestomakeAIDSpreventionandsexeducationapublicwelfareprogramforeveryoneandultimatelyrealizethe‘ZeroAIDS’goal,”shesaid.CA
(XiaoPing’srealnamehasbeenwithheldtoprotectheridentity)
ResidentsofHejieVillageinYingjiangattendatalkonAIDSandsafesexCOVERReportBattlingHIV/AIDSontheFrontline
»TheAIDSPreventionEducationProjectforChineseYouth(APEPCY)wasestablishedbytheChinaCharitiesAidFoundationforChildrenandtheChineseSocietyofEducationin2006.
»APEPCYseekstomobilizesociety,includingcommunitycharitymechanisms,educationalinstitutionsandlocalprofessionalorganizations,tointroduceHIV/AIDSpreventionawarenessin10,000higher-educationinstitutionsaswellasvocational,middleandprimaryschools.
»Thisisdonebycompilingreadingmaterials,trainingteachers,andguidingclassroomorthematic-approachactivities.»ItfunctionsasaplatformtoenableyoungpeopletogainawarenessofHIV/AIDSthroughsexualhealtheducationandrunsHIV/AIDSpreventionandtreatmenteducationprogramsforchildrenlivingwithHIVandAIDSorphans.