A Collaborative Fight Against Complacency
State of the epidemic
At the very start of the Global AIDS report 2018, the foreword by Executive Director, Michel Sidibé begins with a warning against complacency following the success witnessed thus far. The report reads as follows: “At the halfway point to the 2020 targets, the pace of progress is not matching the global ambition…There is a prevention crisis.” Calling out the need to expand and scale prevention efforts rapidly to ensure that those who need it most have access, he stresses that there is much more work to be done.
In the fight against AIDS, it seems that progress has not trickled down to the most vulnerable populations of society. Despite medical advancement, increased funding and an expansion of programs, those at a disadvantage owing to age, economic status, gender or race are neglected in the race to end HIV. In developing nations with huge income disparities, a difficult mix of vulnerability, poverty and migration generate a hotbed for potential infection. And unfortunately, children bear the brunt of the impact. With no access to the knowledge or financial resources required to access care, they are left behind. In the foreword of the aforementioned report, Sidibé stresses on the importance of children-focused response. “While the overall HIV treatment level is high, there is a huge injustice being committed against our children—only half of under-15s living with HIV were being treated last year,” he states. Children are unfairly subjected to grave injustices and routine stigmatization and marginalization.
TeachAids deliberate and concerted prevention effort
Providing preventive solutions to children in countries such as India is more complicated than it seems, as TeachAids discovered. The very persons who were intended to provide precious and potentially life-saving educational material to children were the ones who blocked its dissemination. Teachers were reluctant to use HIV prevention material because it was delivered as part of sexual educational training that they found to be inappropriate. Educators in Uttar Pradesh (a state in India) even went as far as to burn TeachAids material on the streets. Parents, on the other hand, were hesitant for many reasons such as the fear that this material may encourage promiscuity among their children. State governments had their own apprehensions because of cultural taboos. Backed by years of intense research, and with countless partners and critical collaborations, TeachAids was successfully able to penetrate a highly reluctant environment and radically transform the way that healthcare content was delivered.
From winning the trust of parents and educators through constructive, open-ended dialogue to involving other high-profile celebrities through their recognizable voice-overs, to persuading local governments to incorporate our teaching material into their state health programs, TeachAids was able to garner the support of critical stakeholders who would go on to form integral cogs in the wheel of HIV progress among vulnerable populations. As we continue to develop cutting-edge material, we are also steadily expanding across countries and carving a stronger presence within the nations that we already work with.
Given the urgent need for prevention efforts, TeachAids has been laser-focused on unparalleled expansion this year. With 250+ partnerships, our research-based educational material now used in 82 countries. We are excited to expand our model into confronting new health challenges.