AIDS education and training centers
Encyclopedia
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
(HIV), has become a global health issue, and various ways are being explored in order to combat the spread of the disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
. One such way to somewhat limit the spread of AIDS is through education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. Societies with significant number of HIV positive individuals and people that have been diagnosed with having full blown cases of AIDS are societies in which education about the disease is limited to almost non-existent and where culture and tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
clash with modern medicine. Thus, education and training are of great importance and a number of organizations have been formed within the past two decades. Organizations vary from being government funded to private and/or are formed by health and social advocates. Organizations provide range of services from support for families and individuals affected by the disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
, classes in academic settings ranging from preschools to universities, available resources to updates on the latest advances in medical treatments.
In many societies, even in many Western cultures, stereotyping exists and one way to stop or prevent discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
is through education and passing out information about the ways the disease is spread. Big problem in containing the spread of the disease are cultural and religious backgrounds where usage of common contraceptives, such as latex condoms, are prohibited. Unfortunate events such as wars and armed conflicts often employ rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
as a mean of terrorizing local population, in which AIDS, among other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), is spread almost exponentially and, very often, it is impossible to trace back to the individual that was the original HIV carrier. The consequences of such horrific acts are infected mothers who give births to infected babies and the disease is spread vertically. Because of its imapct on global population and the high rate of spreading, AIDS has been classified as being pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
.
There is a growing number of organizations exclusively dedicated to AIDS education and prevention, as well as organized training of medical staff and any individuals that may be interested. Main goals of these organizations are:
- Education about the disease (acquisition and transmission process)
- Training
- Support
- Updates on latest research efforts
North America
- AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs)AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs)The AIDS Education and Training Centers are a United States network of five national centers, 11 regional training centers, and over 130 associated local performance sites that provide education on HIV and related co-morbidities such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases for...
in the US - STOP AIDS Project
- New England AIDS Education and Training Center
- Florida AIDS Education and Training Center
- MATEC - Midwest AIDS Training and Education Centre
- The Connecticut HIV Consumer Council
- HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau (funded by the US Government)
- CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
- CDC National Prevention Information Network
- Food & Drug Administration HIV/AIDS (US Federal Agency)
- AIDS Education and Training National Resource Center
- AIDSinfo (funded by the US Government)
- www.AIDS.gov Portal for all Federal domestic HIV/AIDS information
- Centro Nacional para la Prevención y el Control del VIH/SIDA (Mexico)
Europe
- Abraço Associaçao de Apoio aos Doentes de VIH/SIDA (Portugal)
- AIDES - T our Essor (France)
- AIDS Hilfe Tirol (Austria)
- Deutsche Aids Hilfe (Germany)
- Finnish Aids Council (Finland)
- Vereniging Nederland (The Netherlands)
- LILA -Lega Italiana Per La Lotta Contro L’AIDS (Italy)
- SENSOA (Belgium)
Africa
- Southern African AIDS Training Programme (South Africa)
- TASO Training Centers in Uganda (Uganda)
Asia
- Pink Triangle Malaysia (Malaysia)
- Health Science Library - Prince of Songkla University (Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand)
- Action for AIDS (Singapore)
- Hong Kong AIDS Foundation (Hong Kong)
Global
- Global Access Project
- Global AIDS Alliance
- Search For A Cure
- UNESCO HIV and AIDS Education Clearinghouse