HIV/AIDS continues its deadly course. It reverses decades of development gains, and it creates poverty and undermines the very foundations of progress and security. The study focused on women’s education as a proven means to prevent HIV/AIDS for national security.
Four research questions were posed to provide a focus for the collection and analysis of the data collected from a representative sample of 200 female students and 10 female civil servants. Mean ranking order was used to analyse the data.
Stated Objectives
The study re-revealed some findings, such as women being educated through media ranked first. Also, Improved self-efficacy to negotiate safer sex ranked first as the impact of women’s education on the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
However, for national security, it was recommended that women’s education should be given priority “since it is believed that you educate a woman, educate a nation”. Also, HIV \AIDS Education should be included in the school curriculum.
HIV/AIDS continues its deadly course. The scale of the AIDS epidemic is enormous. Unitization Agency for International Development (UNAIDS) estimates that by the end of 2001over, over 40 million people were living with HIV/AIDS, 17.6 million of them adult women, and 2.
Analysis of the Result
There are a million children under 15 years old. About 5 million people were newly infected in 2001 alone15.6 million, following nearly 25 million AIDS deaths by the end of 2001.
The epidemic’s grip on HIV/AIDS is a significant threat to Nigeria’s development. Since the country has orphaned 1.5 million children.
Today, more than 3 million Nigerians (including 120,000 children) are eroding the country’s modest health gains of the past generations. From 1980-1985progress,(Oyo State Government 2003).
Keynote
United Nations Agency for International Development and a rapid increase in the number of destitute families, faced with lower income, more dependents, and sharply higher health care expenditures.
World Bank (2002) states that the most devastating and far-reaching, perhaps, is the pandemic’s impact on education systems.
HIV/AIDS is drawing the supply of education, eroding its quality, weakening demand, drying up countries’ pools of skilled workers, and increasing sector costs, already high about available public resources.
Girls are highly vulnerable to contracting AIDS, for cultural, economic and physiological reasons and are more often retained at home to perform chores when household income drops due to AIDS deaths or to care for a sick relative (World Bank 2002).
At this juncture, the education of children and youths merits the highest priority in a world afflicted by HIV/AIDS because a good basic education itself ranks among the most effective and cost-effective means of HIV prevention (World Bank, 2002).
Therefore, the central message of this paper is to examine the extent to which women / adolescent females have been educated on HIV/AIDS, the impact of women’s education on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and how the reduction of the HIV/AIDS epidemic can promote national stability.
The Problem
Nigeria is in the early stages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The median prevalence rate of HIV impact, however, all but ensures national decline.
The government recognises the urgent need for action, guided by an informed planning process. In March 2001, the education ministry countries assessed the impact of HIV/AIDS.
For the Bank, special focus is on girls’ education and the Resource on Effective School Health (FRESH).
Better Life Options programme and youth to be involved- federal, state and local governments, including international stakeholders, in the curriculum of public secondary schools in Oyo state. This is by the Association for Reproductive and Friendly Clinics to increase access for young people in the project community to quality services and awareness talks.
Keynote
Despite the several efforts made globally, the epidemic is on the upswing (World Bank 2002). Every day, 14,000 people are infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, and the pandemic is devastating countries; Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.
But despite continued campaigns, expert advice about condom use is being ignored. According to the United Nations, only per cent of Africa’s sexually active population uses condoms.
Also, other alternatives to abstinence are not embraced. (The Guardian, Monday, December 1, 2003). Consequently, the growth of HIV infection has reached the exponential phase of catastrophic developmental and social consequences (Ladipo, 2003). In line with this study, attempts are made to provide answers to the following questions;
- What are the ways of educating women on HIV/AIDS?
- What are the impacts of women’s education on the prevention of HIV/AIDS?
- What effects does a reduction in HIV/AIDS have on national security?
- How can women’s education be improved for an HIV/AIDS-free society to be maintained?
Methodology
Research Design
This study is descriptive research. The target population for this study consists of female students (Secondary School and post-secondary institutions) and female civil servants in the Oyo metropolis.
Purposive stratified random sampling techniques we employed to select 200 female students and 100 female civil servants.
The Instrument
A self-designed questionnaire was the main instrument for the study: the questionnaire consisted of sections.
1-iv Section 1 sought information on the demographic characteristics of respondents, while Section II-V was arranged on a 4- 4-point scale. The Likert scale was designed to provide answers to the research’s most important statements, and 1 to the least important statement.
After the construction of the instrument was given to some senior colleagues in the Oyo State College of Education. They are researchers and interested in women’s affairs for validation, and their comments were useful, 0.68 correlation using Pearson’s correlation.
It was administered to a group of 25 women and Adolescents not involved in the study in the pilot study. Procedure: -Copies of questionnaires were given personally to the subjects in the study area.
After administration, the copies that could be retrieved (representing about 95% of those given out) were returned to the researcher for analysis. Mean ranks were calculated for items relations II to V.
Conclusion
This study has emphasised the improvement of women’s education for HIV/AIDS frequent anxiety without doubt. It seems clear that knowledge cum education given to women on the prevention of HIV/AIDS would have a direct influence on national productivity.
As such, it is established in this study that you can’t be dealing with education, you can’t be dealing with poverty, and you can’t be dealing with security today without considering the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Keynote
AIDS affects entire nations. Young people in many countries in the future are becoming infected and dying in large numbers.
Workers in their prime are leaving behind a generation of orphans, who in a cruel, vicious cycle become even more vulnerable.
Therefore, Government and non-governmental organisations should design and produce national Education and communication materials on safe sex issues, e.g. posters.
Also, workers should work with women’s groups to empower them on safe sex issues. The government should set up anti-HIV/AIDS clubs in schools and colleges.
Finally, the inclusion of HIV/AIDS education in school curricula at all levels is necessary for a society free of HIV/AIDS. Read related posts on our research page of the site.
adminate
