| The performance of students infected and affected by HIV/AIDS has been on par with those that are not impacted directly by the disease. This was cautiously suggested by Research Fellow of the University of the West Indies, Joan Thomas, who presented the research findings of a school based HIV/AIDS Stigma Research survey which was conducted within selected local schools.She asserted yesterday that there is still need for the findings to be more carefully analysed before a definitive assertion could be drawn.The survey which was made possible through the Ministry of Education’s collaboration with UNESCO and the University of the West Indies HIV and AIDS Response Programme and Caribbean Child Development Centre (CCDC) was also supported by the Ministry of Health.The findings which amplified the effects of HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination on children’s school experienced and educational outcome were unveiled yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara.The forum was intended to garner recommendations for policy and programming as it relates to addressing HIV and AIDS in the school system.According to Thomas, the study was done in Jamaica thus a local collaborator, in the person of Andrew Hicks, of the University of Guyana, was identified to collect the data.Having acquired the necessary approval,Camisetas Del Barcelona, a specified amount infected and affected students were selected along with a similar amount of comparison students, that is,Camiseta Aleix Vidal, persons neither infected nor affected. Their age ranged from 10 to 18. The Research Assistant was Mr Marlon Agrippa who was trained on the relevant procedure to collect the data from the identified students, their parents, teachers and principals to determine the situation of stigma and discrimination in the school system.At the end of the survey it was revealed that children infected and affected by HIV had similar school experiences and learning outcomes as their comparison, although they reported some level of stigma and discrimination.In essence, Thomas asserted that the findings reflected that neither perceived nor enacted stigma had an impact on the target audience learning experience.According to local UNESCO Secretary General, Inge Nathoo, the realisation of the project kicked into motion last year August when the Ministry of Education decided to partake in a new project which was introduced by the UNESCO Kingston cluster office for the Caribbean, in collaboration with UWI.The goal of the project, she said, was to strengthen research on HIV and AIDS education in the Caribbean in support of comprehensive education sector policies and programmes on HIV and AIDS.It was also expected that this move be informed by available evidence based on and wide-spread consultation with key stakeholders and undertaken through strategic alliances and partnerships.The programme, which was simultaneously introduced in St Lucia,Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys, was aimed at assessing the level of HIV related stigma and discrimination against children living with and affected by the epidemic and the impact on their learning ability, according to Nathoo.“When the project was conceptualised it was anticipated that the findings of the research would lead to increased advocacy and dialogue on the nature, degree and impact of stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV, in particular children and their families, as well as the strengthening of the capacity of the education sector to design and target meaningful intervention to response to the educational care and support needs of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV.”In agreeing to partner with UNESCO and UWI on the project, the Ministry of Education had agreed to organise and chair a multi-sectoral committee to give guidance, technical support and facilitation to the implementation of the process.And the Ministry’s first task, according to Nathoo,Maglia Inter 2018 19 Bambino, was to convene the project steering committee and collectively agree on a terms of reference for its work in supporting the project.Nathoo added that the committee at its first meeting on October 29 last year was also charged with finalising the general research concept prepared by UWI so that it would be relevant and appropriate to the Guyana context.The project steering committee comprised representatives of the Ministries of Education, Human Services, the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, Youth Challenge Guyana, the Community of People Living with and Affected by HIV, GHARP II, PAHO/WHO,Levn�� Boty Nike, UNICEF and the University of Guyana as the liaison with the principal researchers being stationed at CCDC UWI’s Mona Campus.Nathoo was selected as the chairperson of the committee with Janelle Sweatnam being the HIV Focal Point within the Ministry of Education.Implementation of the research activity in Guyana spans a period April to October beginning with the ethical approval of the project by the institutional review board of the Ministry of Health and ending with final data collection and analysis early this month.According to Nathoo preliminary and parallel activities initiated in November last year included the review and endorsement of data collection instruments designed by CCDC and selection and confirmation of the range of participants in the research.She admitted, too, that the implementation of the project was not without some challenges. “Even the unforeseen barriers and delays have provided valuable lessons learned that would contribute to the evidence based for the design of future projects and programmes in this area…,” Nathoo added.The forum was also attended by Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy,Cheap NFL Jerseys, who said that in any country where stigma and discrimination against children is apparent, that country has values that can only lead to absolute, unequivocal failure.He noted that it is essential that in Guyana efforts are directed towards ensuring that “stigma and discrimination against any individual have no place in the society…It is sinful,Wholesale Shoes China Free Shipping, it is unacceptable and must be rejected outright,” he warned. |
