Sudan / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) together with its partners supports World AIDS Day theme
KARTHOUM, Soudan, December 2, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Since 1988 when the concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention;
UNESCO joins governments, civil society and the UN agencies in worldwide campaign around specific themes related to AIDS on 1st of December, each year.
Together with its partners, UNESCO supports this year’s theme for World AIDS Day as “Lead – Empower – Deliver”, building on last year’s theme of “Take the Lead”. Designating leadership as the World AIDS Day theme for 2007 – 2008 provides an opportunity to highlight both the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments that have been made in the response to AIDS – particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 – and celebrating the leadership that has been witnessed at all levels of society.
UNESCO believes, in Sudan, all-round efforts should be made considering the post conflict scenario and particularly the low literacy levels among mass population. Government, UN and non-UN organizations, various segments of civil society and People Living with HIV must join hands to foster responses to HIV and AIDS to keep the promise made through the Declaration of Commitment by UN Member States in 2006 to work towards achieving universal access. The Declaration established a number of targets; including the key goal of ensuring that by 2010, 95% of young people aged 15-24 have comprehensive knowledge about HIV and about how to avoid transmission.
UNESCO, as the global leader in Education, Natural and Human Sciences, Communication & Information and Culture, has strategized broad based multi-disciplinary and sector-wide HIV and AIDS programmes in Sudan. These programmes particularly focus on the education sector through the EDUCAIDS which is UNAIDS Global Initiative on Education and HIV and AIDS, led by UNESCO. The EDUCAIDS provides comprehensive framework for support – to safeguard the education sector from HIV & AIDS and develop strategic responses to HIV and AIDS though the Education.
UNESCO Sudan’s EDUCAIDS programmes particularly target youth in educational settings, interlinked communities of educational institutes and the mass illiterate populations in the country. The EDUCAIDS programmes, with support from its counterparts; are aiming to develop HIV & AIDS curricula for university students, educational technical skill training for People Living with HIV, building capacities of core university officials and the Ministries, establish UNESCO Chair on HIV/AIDS and EDUCAIDS, training for youth to earn better livelihoods while attaining prerequisite knowledge on HIV, UNESCO culture clubs on HIV and also to develop the HIV & AIDS work-place policy for higher educational institutes. These are among various interventions. As the next step, UNESCO is moving forward to develop and deploy a UN and non-UN partner’s joint programme on EDUCAIDS in Sudan that strategically and jointly will scrutinize the education sector gaps in responding to the HIV & AID and will deploy appropriate and effective interventions to protect the education system and interlinked communities of educational institutes, in Sudan, at all levels.
SOURCE : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
