Ei-iE

EI works with the WHO on a programme dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention and related risky behaviours in schools in Ghana, Benin and Burundi. An EI workshop recently brought teacher unions from these countries together to assess the progress made over the last year and to learn about new EI training material on the inclusion of HIV positive teachers and building gender-friendly school environments.

Last July an excellent achievement was made by the eight affiliates in Benin (SNEP, SYNEMP, SYNAPES, SYNESTP, SYNTRA-MESRS, SYNESP, SNIA-EP and SYNAPROLYC) when they submitted a joint proposal to work together on the EI/WHO programme. In future, the union grouping will be referred to as the EI Union Committee of Benin (COSIEB).

COSIEB began working on the programme in September 2007. Their main activity to date entailed the training of 74 national trainers on HIV and AIDS prevention and related risky behaviours. Held in Cotonou in December 2007, the training workshop aimed at building up teachers knowledge and skills towards the avoidance HIV/AIDS and related unhealthy behaviours in schools. It was facilitated by Mor Mbengue, the coordinator of the COSSEL/Senegal EFAIDS Programme, who brought with him a great deal of experience in this field. The training marked the first step in the cascading model, which will see more teachers trained at the departmental, district and finally the school level.

In Burundi, STEB started the training of trainers in April 2007. An initial core team of 26 teachers were trained at this stage. By the end of the year they aimed to train 129 district trainers and 17 provincial inspectors of primary education in four regions. A more detailed report on this training will be available early next year.

In Ghana, an evaluation of the GNAT/EI/WHO In-Service Training Workshop in the Western Region took place in Tarkwa at the end of July 2007. The evaluators visited six out of the eleven districts to assess the impact of the in-service training workshop that took place in Takoradi. Some of the districts visited included Bibiani, Jomoro, Saema, Daboase, Agona West, and Nzema East. In the Districts visited, the resource persons were part of either the sensitisation or training workshop for students or teachers.

At the same time, a follow-up workshop took place involving 15 participants who attended the in-service training workshop in Takoradi. The workshop enabled a valuable exchange of experience and best practice.

GNAT were also responsible for the drafting of an HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy (available upon request) emphasising the following guiding principles: recognition of HIV and AIDS as a workplace issue, social dialogue, gender equality, non-discrimination, care and support, counselling services, continuation of employment relations, confidentiality, prevention.

Finally, GNAT developed a total of 10,000 brochures for its members on HIV and AIDS prevention, on minimising the impact of HIV and AIDS and the role of teachers unions in reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS, on HIV and AIDS and drugs and alcohol and on managing HIV and AIDS. The brochure aims at encouraging members to use condoms, to fight stigmatisation, and discrimination; to go for voluntary counselling and testing and to sensitise many more teachers and students on HIV/AIDS prevention. The majority of the brochures were distributed to union members at the occasion of World Teachers’ Day on 5 October 2007.