Project Database
EFAIDS Programme
| Country: | Suriname |
| Start Date: | 2007-01-01 |
| Deadline: | 2010-12-31 |
| Host organisations: |
Bond van Leraren
(BvL)
Surinaamse Openbare Onderwijzersbond (SOB) |
| Co-operating organisations: |
Education International (EI)
World Health Organisation (WHO) Education Development Center (EDC) |
| Related Links: | |
| Grouping: | EI Education For All-HIV/AIDS Prevention (EFAIDS) Programme |
Project Summary:
In Suriname, young persons are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. Sixty to eighty percent of annual new HIV cases are in the age group 15-49 and young girls are particularly vulnerable. The high prevalence of teen pregnancy (around 20 percent of annual births) confirms behavioural patterns of early sexual initiation and unprotected sex. HIV infection rates are increasing rapidly in Suriname and in 2008 adult HIV prevalence reached 2.4 percent.
Recognizing the need to provide a unified education sector response to the epidemic, the Surinamese teachers’ unions joined forces and started to work together in the framework of the EFAIDS Programme. The Surinaamse Openbare Onderwijzersbond (SOB) joined the Bond van Leraren (BvL), which has implemented the Programme since 2006, and established structures and strategies for the programme in the different levels of the union’s structure. The two unions have created a joint EFAIDS Steering Committee, which manages both parts of the programme: the HIV and AIDS training; and the training on addressing school drop out.
It is also important to note that among those who receive training, there are also pastors, school principals, and professionals such as economists, who are part-time teachers. These workers promote safe sex practices at their workplace and instruct workers on the use of universal precautions including on the use of male and female condoms. The education sector unions not only place prevention of HIV and AIDS at the forefront of their agenda but have been proactive in encouraging other trade unions to do so. In order to ensure sustainability of the training initiatives for teachers, the unions are participating in a committee with the government to start extra training for teachers in their profession. There is research being done to establish how to put up this extra training in a structural way.
There is widespread recognition of the Surinamese teachers unions’ efforts in terms of HIV and AIDS prevention. The private sector has provided tangible support to the unions in the form of training materials and equipments, such as computers and printers. The government has assigned five teachers to work full time on the implementation of the programme. The unions continue to collaborate with the governments’ National Aids Program (NAP) and other organisations such as Stichting Mamio Namenproject, Stichting Lobi, and Regionale Gezondheids.
Activities in 2008
The Committee has started training teachers of senior high-schools, training colleges, commercial schools and technical schools, and pre-university schools. In 2008, 40 facilitators were trained, who in turn reached more than 470 teachers in 25 schools. Such was the success of these trainings that the schools have been quick to request that the Committee organise more training sessions for incoming students. At the customary introduction week for high-school students at the beginning of the school-year the committee designed a customised programme and thus provided 397 students with HIV and AIDs education.
Taking into account the gender dimension of the epidemic, the programme helped women to understand their rights, both within the workplace and outside it, and empowered them to protect themselves.
The unions are very concerned with the drop-out rate in Suriname. Statistics reveal that only 60 percent of the pupils of elementary school complete their final year successfully. Government interventions have not fully tackled the issue and there has been growing cause for concern among teachers and other education stakeholders about the problem of dropouts.
The Committee selected about 40 teachers from different poor neighbourhoods in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Different experts gave workshops to these teachers so that they could learn the skills and know-how to identify students who may be at risk of dropping-out, to counsel the individual learners to stay in school, and to involve parents, guardians, and other concerned persons in supporting the student’s right to education. Teachers have been trained to keep in touch with the families and gain better understanding of the problems students and their families face. The long term objective is that pupils will find it is very rewarding to complete their primary education with a good stock of skills.
Similar projects elsewhere in the region:
Antigua and Barbuda - EFAIDS Programme Belize - EFAIDS Programme Dominica - EFAIDS Programme Grenada - EFAIDS Programme Guyana - EFAIDS Programme Haiti - EFAIDS Programme Jamaica - EFAIDS Programme Saint Kitts and Nevis - EFAIDS Programme Saint Lucia - EFAIDS Programme Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - EFAIDS Programme Trinidad and Tobago - EFAIDS Programme
