AIDS/HIV Prevention Education:

Some of the highest AIDS rates on the continent of Africa are in the sub-Saharan region where the Central African Republic is located. In 2003 the HIV-positive rate in the CAR was registered at 13.5%, over twice that of all its neighboring countries. Actually, there has not been a valid statistical report on this pandemic in the CAR for many years, partially due to the series of civil wars. AIDS is such a serious threat to the very fabric of Central African society that ICDI has made AIDS education a priority in all of our training, whether in the villages or among orphans.

ICDI staff are trained in AIDS prevention education by the Baptist AIDS Response Agency (BARA) out of Nairobi, Kenya. This two-week training program provides ICDI with a system of AIDS prevention education that communicates using methods that the Central African villagers understand.

The ICDI team has been permitted in public schools around the capital city, which has led to new AIDS prevention clubs among young people. These clubs continue to encourage and teach other youth about this disease which is taking the lives of so many of the educated young men and women in the Central African Republic.

There are many superstitious beliefs about how AIDS is contracted and how it can be avoided, making real teaching essential for reversing the tide of this disease. ICDI has found that by helping communities with other community development issues like well drilling and agricultural work, the door has been open for AIDS education as well.

AIDS prevention is also taught to the orphans in the Mercy Care Center program. ICDI's local team members have found that the age for sexual activity among Central Africans is very young, often beginning at ages 10 and 11. This fact alone has been enough to encourage our caregivers to insist that AIDS prevention be taught to the orphans under their care. ICDI hopes this program will grow into a nationwide initiative to slow the loss of CAR's vitality and people.