a sourcebook of hiv/aids prevention programs volume 2

76 A Sourcebook of HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs, Vol. 2• Provision of HIV/AIDS education to nonteaching staff• Planning and facilitation of training of members of parent-teacher associations(PTAs) and school management committees (SMCs).Ongoing support for teachers is provided by school health coordinators,who are supported by the district SHEP coordinator. Each school isexpected to have a school health committee that supports implementationof SHEP–related activities, including HIV/AIDS education. As part of theAlert program, teachers are required to attend at least one refresher courseon HIV/AIDS every two years.To ensure that teachers and students have access to health services, referralsystems are being set up in collaboration with district health managementteams. Priority health services are currently voluntary counseling and testingand treatment of STIs (national guidelines on voluntary counseling and treatmentindicate that a child who is under 18 requires parental consent beforeaccessing the service).Selection and training of peer educatorsEach school is required to nominate four children from each class fromupper-primary classes to grade 3 of junior-secondary school to serve as peereducators. Peer educators are selected by their classmates on the basis oftheir ability to communicate in English, their motivation to work as apeer educator, and the recommendation of young people in the school. Inselecting peer educators, schools take into consideration the need for a balanceof boys and girls as well as the need to include students from socialclasses, religious affiliations, and ethnic groups.Peer educators are trained to initiate activities that involve all childrenand educate each other on HIV/AIDS. A peer education manual is used totrain peer educators.GES organizes national training for a core team of trainers of peer educators.These trainers are drawn largely from the NGO community, whichhas experience in peer education and other participatory learning methodologies.The aim is to train trainers of peer educators and teachers togetheras much as possible, to harmonize and facilitate mutual reinforcement ofthe teacher-led and child-led pillars.Training of school community membersThe Alert model supports linkages between schools and PTAs/SMCs. Teachertrainers are responsible for training school community members. Trainingtakes place at the district level and aims to equip PTA/SMC representatives to(c) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank