Partnerships & Projects
Reducing HIV Stigma by Education — Ghana (2004–2010)
Partners
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
University of Ghana, Legon-Accra
University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast
University of Education, Winneba, Winneba
Funding
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) [executing agency]
Description
A university partnership project providing public school teachers and youth workers the knowledge and skills to reduce the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Confronting the spread of HIV/AIDS through education will change behaviours and reduce the risks associated with the disease.
Beneficiaries
Teachers and youth workers will have new knowledge, skills, materials and methods to teach the subject of HIV/AIDS in classrooms and communities. As a result, future generations of children will benefit from HIV/AIDS relevant information incorporated into the school curriculum, which will help diminish the stigma associated with the disease.
Results
By the end of the project, the expected results include:
- HIV/AIDS stigma curriculum and materials designed and produced for the 120 lecturers/trainers involved in the project, of whom 90 will train 15,000 teachers through teacher education programmes, and 30 will work directly with 1,800 community youth workers
- Sustained institutional capacity by increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS among teachers and youth workers to reduce the incidence of the disease
- 1.2 million school children benefit from fundamental HIV/AIDS education
- A minimum of 72,000 out-of-school girls and boys develop knowledge and skills in HIV/AIDS awareness, recognition and prevention
Links
Ghana Distance Education Development Project
Project Communications
Official project website
Click here to download the project abstract [227kb PDF file]
Click here to download the project flyer [432kb PDF file]
The Challenge of Stigma / Reflections on community education as a pathway to change
The Challenge of Stigma is a 22-minute documentary video that looks at the situation of AIDS related stigma in Ghana and features the T2 Stigma reduction project. The video was made in 2009 and draws on over 50 interviews to document the scope and goals of the partner Universities HIV and AIDS distance education programs. This video is an SFU School of Communication Masters Project by Heiko Decosas. If you are interested in learning more about the video, a complete project write up is available through the SFU library thesis collection.
Contact
Yvonne Tabin, PhD
Telephone 778-782-8856
Email ytabin@sfu.ca
