Ceylon Today Editorial

HIV AND SEX EDUCATION

Tuesday 03rd November 2015

The latest local study on the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) estimates that over 3, 600 people are living with the disease in Sri Lanka and the majority of them are in the 15 to 49 age group.

The 2014/2015 annual report of the National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health estimates that there were around 3, 300 people living with HIV in 2014. Of these, 76% are in the over 15 year age group and the majority of them are estimated to be males, where the percentage is 69%. In 2014, 228 new HIV cases have been reported and over 80% of the reported new cases were due to heterosexual while 55% and 28% were due to homosexual or bisexual activities, noted UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS.

According to the National STD/AIDS Control Programme out of 161 HIV positive cases identified in 2015, nine are pregnant women. However, the programme also noted that six out of the nine HIV positive pregnant women had already delivered children who are HIV positive. This, according to them, is due to treatment being provided before the gestation period is over in a pregnant mother.

Mid last year it was reported that an alarming majority of school going children in Sri Lanka have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS which was able to get undue attention as it reached full blown headlines on daily newspapers. The then health officials claimed that these numbers and the entire report was an exaggeration of real facts while the matter even reached the political stage of the country.

Come 2015, the matter still manages to reach newspaper headlines with much credible data but despite the surmounting amount of data at our expense no one has bothered to actually do anything with those numbers. It is a matter of processing data into usable information so that it can be implemented properly into a programme that could benefit society. However, despite this bulk of bricks no one had been able to make a house out of it.

According to the National STD/AIDS Control Programme report, the majority of the cases were reported from the Western Province, an alarming 56%, and less than 10% of HIV cases had been reported from other provinces in the country. The report also revealed that Colombo, Gampaha and Puttalam Districts had shown the highest HIV rates with over 10 HIV cases per 100, 000 population of the districts in 2014. The number of HIV positive persons reported per quarter of each year has doubled during the last six years, which is a definite clarion call for immediate action.

Government authorities, especially the Ministry of Health and the National STD/AIDS Control Programme should also collect data on the general public's awareness on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Such a census and statistics report will portray that the general public might not even be aware of how such diseases are caused, transmitted or the possible repercussions of such diseases. The general public is fallaciously misinformed due to social stigmas, improper education and urban legends and myths that surround these diseases. Despite our literacy rate being high end, we do have trouble being misguided by incorrect information almost all the time.

The solution to this is the introduction of sex education to school curriculums. A proper sex education, where students are taught about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, and other aspects of human sexual behaviour, can be the stepping stone in the fight against HIV/AIDS in our country.

Some parties stand adamant that the Grade 10 Health Science curriculum covers the basics of sex education and that is more than enough for any child who is 15 and is sitting for his or her Ordinary Level examination. They believe that the rest will be taught by the society when the time is right. When is the time right and what will the society teaching them? What guarantee can we get that they will be taught correctly?

Regardless of these questions, this is what has happened until now and it has not made any serious affect on the society which is currently riddled by crimes of passion, rape and vulgar murder. So isn't this a clear sign that shows how and why a proper sex education is needed?

Sri Lanka may have been categorized as a low level HIV epidemic country, where the HIV prevalence remains less than one per cent of the country's total population, but that does not mean that steps should not be taken to keep that number from increasing. If possible, steps should be taken to decrease that percentage until it is null or manage it, without letting it increase.

Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had made several observations of implementing sex education to the education curriculum. However, this has not happened as yet. Children should be taught of the dangers of sex as well as the ecstasy of sex. What is happening now, is teachers are teaching their students that there is a thing called sex, this is how you do it, if you do it you make babies and that there are diseases that are transmitted through sex. If anyone calls this 'comprehensive and proper' they should probably think about attending school once again. (Hopefully after sex education is implemented)

HIV has claimed more than 34 million lives so far. Let us not add to it.