Stakeholders emphasizes on awareness on HIV, GBV among students

EDUCATION and health Stakeholders have emphasized on the provision of comprehensive education on HIV/AIDS, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Safe Reproductive Health (SRH) to primary and secondary school pupils in order to avert effects on the vices.

Speaking in Dodoma recently, Acting Assistant Director of Public Education from the Ministry of Health Dr Tumaini Haonga said the statistics of HIV infection, early pregnancies and incidents of GBV among school children have highly increased being an attribute of lack of proper and adequate education.

The study conducted by NIMRI in Collaboration with UNESCO aiming at exploring the understanding, attitudes and behaviors of school children on HIV, GBV and SRH has revealed that most pupils in primary and secondary schools do not have adequate knowledge on health and GBV related issues, the study indicates that less than 50 percent among 4320 participants are aware of these issues.

Dr Haonga said that the report also revealed that approximately 8,000 girls from primary and secondary schools drop from school after getting pregnancies, and that 13 percent of the 4320 students who participated in the study admitted that they had started sexual intercourse with majority of them being subjected to sexual abuse.

He added that the increase of these problems is due to lack of proper, in-depth and adequate education on GBV, HIV/AIDS and SRH in schools and within the community.

“The worse problem is that students at schools do not have  access to enough education on these issues, but also, parents are not talking and telling their children the truth about family planning, safe sex and gender-based violence, only 20 percent of students have admitted that they got information and education from their parents” said Dr Haonga, adding:

“Also, the education provided in schools concerning these matters is not satisfactory, we do not have a school curriculum that could be used to teach in details about GBV, HIV/AIDS and SRH.’’

The Coordinator of the National Program of Health Education in Schools from the Ministry of Health, Beauty Mwambebule, said a big number of students in schools do not have enough education on GBV, HIV/AIDS and SHR thus a nation should take responsibility to ensure adequate and proper education is provided in schools to enable the young generation to take care and defend themselves with the effects resulted from these matters.

“We call upon the whole nation to unite together to ensure proper and adequate education is provided to students to help them face the challenges in these matters, the situation is worse, if we will not take appropriate and urgent measures, we will not have a healthy generation that can build our nation in the coming years,” said Ms Mwambebule.