Ei-iE

In mid June the Senegalese Committee of Education Unions against HIV/AIDS (COSSEL), which is composed of four EI affiliated teacher unions, namely, SNEEL-CNTS, SUDES, SYPROS and UDEN, carried out an evaluation of the EFAIDS Programme in Dakar.

EI has just published an update of its 2006 report "Training for Life" on the record of governments in providing training for teachers on HIV and AIDS. The report is the result of the hard work carried out by a number of EI's affiliates to establish the facts on teacher...

Every Tuesday in Botswana a new television programme on HIV and AIDS is aired in schools across the country. This is good news for both teachers and learners.

Early in 2007, EI conducted feasibility studies in Nepal and Indonesia to look at the potential roles that the teachers' organisations based there can play in contributing towards providing Education for All and combating HIV and AIDS, within the context of the EFAIDS Programme.

The Inter Agency Task Team on Education and HIV and AIDS (IATT) is composed of UN agencies, bilateral donor agencies and civil society representatives. The group of approximately 20 members convenes twice a year to exchange views and discuss issues related to HIV, AIDS and Education. EI attended the most...

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has just published a report citing women's rights as a key factor in halting the spread of HIV.

From 10 to 13 April 2007, the Free Trade Union of Education Workers (STEB) organised a national 'Training of Trainers' workshop on HIV/AIDS prevention through schools in Bujumbura (Burundi). It was supported by both EI and WHO-AFRO.

As the number of school-age children grows, so too does the need for teachers, and the need for improving the quality of education. Teachers are key actors in this process, but they are still not being sheltered from the devastating HIV and AIDS pandemic.

In March the state government of Maharashtra, India announced its intention to ban sex education in schools across the state. The Indian teachers' union AIFTO immediately condemned the move as a "retrograde step in the otherwise progressive state of Maharashtra." If the ban goes through, the state will join Karnataka,...

According to a new report published mid-April by the WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF, access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS in low-income countries continued to grow during 2006, with more than 2 million receiving treatment in December 2006.

According to the Oxfam Briefing Paper on Paying for People, millions of people are dying, sick, or out of school because there are not enough teachers, nurses, and doctors in poor countries.

From 5-9 March 2007, a workshop on "Strengthening the Education Sector Response to School Health, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Programmes" took place in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

This month, EI is pleased to announce the launch of the new EFAIDS Programme website: www.ei-ie.org/efaids.

April 28 is a day to commemorate the 2 million workers who die, the 1.2 million who are injured, and the 160 million who fall ill each year due to unsafe, unhealthy, or unsustainable work and workplaces. AIDS is among the principal causes of death and illness amongst workers and...

In the framework of its EFAIDS Programme, the BTU/Botswana has recently been engaged in a number of worthwhile activities. Whether engaged in advocacy work to improve the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS or reinforcing partnerships towards the achievement of Education for All (EFA), the union has been...

In October 2006 a competition for schools participating in the KNUT/AFT HIV/AIDS programme got off the ground with the involvement of 105 schools. EI provided support for this initiative which was heralded as an excellent method of motivating schools to step up their HIV/AIDS education efforts.

Education International represents teachers unions worldwide and, as such, is one of the sectoral global unions confronted with the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Clearly many other trade union organisations from other sectors also face the impact of the pandemic. Just as the teachers represented by EI, also the miners, the...

Late last month, Paris was the setting for the 4th Francophone Conference on HIV and AIDS. Speakers participating in the event underlined the urgent need to pursue a dual approach to fighting AIDS which would give priority to both prevention and treatment.