A lesson to live : Cucumbers and Condoms

One of my secondary projects is facilitating a group of  adolescent girls on topics of education and health , this is a very popular and rewarding program for many Peace Corps Volunteers and it is similar Michele Obama‘s mission of Let Girls Learn.

We just finished a meeting on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV (The estimates here in my village are higher than the national average of 11.9%).

We started with having the girls practice what to communicate to their boyfriends on the importance of health and preventing illnesses, thus the use of a condom. We had a few giggles, but they understand their rights (gender equity was discussed previously) to insist on the use of male condoms or female condoms. We ended with a demonstration using cucumbers and condoms and then posed for a cherished picture.

These girls will go far.@bloggingabroad

Here is more information on the HIV/AIDS epidemic:

·         According to WHO , an estimated 35 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic, including 1.1 million in 2015.

·         Despite advances in our scientific understanding of HIV and its prevention and treatment, most people living with HIV or at risk for HIV do not have access to prevention, care, and treatment, and there is still no cure. However, effective treatment with antiretroviral drugs can control the virus so that people with HIV can enjoy healthy lives and reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others.

·         The HIV epidemic not only affects the health of individuals, it impacts households, communities, and the development and economic growth of nations. Many of the countries hardest hit by HIV also suffer from other infectious diseases, food insecurity, and other serious problems.

·         Despite these challenges, there have been successes and promising signs. New global efforts have been mounted to address the epidemic, particularly in the last decade. Prevention has helped to reduce HIV prevalence rates in a small but growing number of countries and new HIV infections are believed to be on the decline. In addition, the number of people with HIV receiving treatment in resource-poor countries has dramatically increased in the past decade. According to UNAIDS , as of December 2015, 17 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally, up from 15.8 million in June 2015 and 7.5 million in 2010.

·         Progress also has been made in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and keeping mothers alive. According to UNAIDS , in 2015, 77% of pregnant women living with HIV globally had access to  antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies; new HIV infections among children have declined by 50% since 2010.  

AIDS.GOV