UNESCO's Response to HIV and AIDS:

The HIV epidemic and other health issues affecting children and young people pose a serious challenge to quality education and threaten to reverse progress made towards the Education for All (EFA) goals and Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. Access to quality education protects against HIV, facilitates access to health information and services, and contributes to better overall health outcomes, ensuring sustainable development.

UNESCO works towards Universal Access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by:

• building country capacity for effective and sustainable education (ESD) responses to HIV
• strengthening health education, which includes comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), HIV education; and other health promoting life skills education (LSE)
• advancing gender equality and protecting human rights

UNESCO Office, Jakarta Activities:

Policy and Response Review - Within the context of EDUCAIDS*, UNESCO Jakarta has been scaling up its response on the role of education in preventing HIV transmission. UNESCO supported cluster countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Timor-Leste) in conducting Situation-Response Analysis (SRA), which were instrumental in terms of:

• Providing an overview of the situation in regard to HIV, drugs and sexual health
• Documenting the education sector’s contribution in critical areas (e.g. policy, curriculum, teacher training) and identifying areas that may be missing or weak
• Providing evidence-based information for future education sector planning and prioritization of education on sexuality, drugs and HIV
• Making recommendations to strengthen coordination and to implement scaled-up comprehensive responses to HIV and AIDS
• Developing Country Profiles in the form of One-Page Snapshots provide a quick glance of current responses

HIV Prevention for Youth and YKAP (Young Key Affected Populations) – Education and empowerment of young people by raising awareness and understanding of HIV, confronting HIV-related stigma and discrimination among young people and promoting youth participation, through:

• Tertiary Level HIV Prevention e-Learning Videoconference Distance Course for youth, including YKAP, with knowledge and education on HIV prevention, health promotion, Rights & services
• Online Rights-Based Quiz on Comprehensive Knowledge on HIV and rejecting major misconceptions, targeting youth in formal and non-formal settings, with greater access to YKAP
• FGD (Focus Group Discussions) with national youth networks, representing member of YKAP, (including Papua), assessing current knowledge and misconceptions on HIV
• Social Media (Twitter & Facebook) activities for youth in formal & non-formal settings, a strategic tool to engage YKAP
• Support survey of Young People’s Knowledge of HIV in generalized epidemics -Papua, Indonesia

Country Guidelines and Teacher Manuals – Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) providing a platform for more effective HIV prevention, as well as to address unintended pregnancy and other sexually transmitted infections, through:

• Comprehensive sexuality education addressing HIV, Drugs and Sexual risk behaviors for youth in closed settings or out of school
• Local adaptation of ITGSE (International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education - globally developed by UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and UNAIDS) for socialization and support
• Supplemental illustrative teacher/trainer manuals based on ITGSE, addressing HIV, STIs, sexual behavior, GBV (Gender Based Violence), abuse, exploitation and harmful practices
• Piloting of teacher/trainer manuals in closed settings (i.e. juvenile detention centers) and youth out of school (i.e. street children) using innovative approaches
• Related CSE workshops and meetings with government counterparts, UN partners, local CSOs and youth networks

UNESCO and National and Local Partners:

• Activities listed above endeavor to collaborate with Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs, National AIDS Commissions, National Population and Family Planning Agencies), Ministry of Religious Affairs along with and Local CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) – Faith Based Organizations, National Youth Networks representing YKAP and Networks of People Living with HIV.

UNESCO and UNAIDS Co-Sponsors:

• As a founding member and Co-sponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNESCO goals are aligned to the UNAIDS Strategy for 2011-2015 and the global vision of Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths
• UNESCO supports countries' responses to HIV with advocacy, policy and programmatic guidance, and technical and strategic support, convening and coordination, along with UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS and other Co-Sponsors on activities focused on youth

Backstopping Support from Bangkok and Paris:

• Bangkok, Thailand - UNESCO Jakarta receives regional support from the HIV Prevention and Health Promotion (HP2) Unit
• Paris, France – UNESCO Jakarta also receives global support from the Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development and Section of HIV and Health Education.

* EDUCAIDS - The Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS, seeks to promote, develop and support comprehensive education sector responses to HIV and AIDS.

For a recap of recent activities and publications, please review newsflash and documents below.

For further information, please email us at: jakarta(at)unesco.org