Aids

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a worldwide known epidemic. There were 37.2 million adults and 2.2 million children living with HIV at the end of 2004. (AVERT). Steadily spreading for the past two decades, HIV now affects every country in the world (AVERT). Adolescents in the United States often engage in behaviors which increase their risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (2).Many young people lack basic information about HIV and AIDS, and are unaware of the ways in which HIV infection can occur, and be prevented. (AVERT). School health programs can be an efficient method to help prevent risky behaviors because 95% of all youth aged 5-17 years are enrolled(2). "Almost all young people attend school for some part of their childhood, and while they are there, they expect to learn new information, and are more receptive to it than they might be in another environment" (AVERT). HIV/AIDS education should be more prevalent in schools to halt the spread of the disease and to reduce discrimination. Informing young people about the facts and dangers of HIV and AIDS enables them to protect themselves. Being informed is a crucial tool against the battle of HIV. Being informed about the facts and the dangers of HIV and AIDS enables young people to protect themselves and is a crucial tool in the battle against HIV(AVERT).

New HIV infections in 2004 totaled 4.9 million (AVERT). Young people (15-24 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide - more than 6,000 become infected with HIV every day(AVERT). Teens are often particularly vulnerable to HIV as a result of drug-use or promiscuity (AVERT)."As a rule, nobody is really prepared to talk to young people about sex. Parents do not feel up to the job and pass it on to the teachers who in turn pass it back to the family or the church" (Fouilloux). Katsigeorgis states that no institutions have a greater ability to affect all aspects of the community then schools, as they can reach the age group between 10 and 25, where most new infections occur each year. UNAIDS surveys show that when young people are well-informed about the disease, they protect themselves more effectively than adults (Fouilloux). Many people in the USA continue to think that AIDS is something which could never happen to them, and many people in the USA continue to become infected (AVERT). The people who are most urgently in need of HIV education are those who think they're not at risk (AVERT). The virus is transmitted almost exclusively by behavior that individuals can modify(2). educational programs to influence relevant behavior can be effective in preventing the spread of HIV (2).Risk behavior can only be changed by effective communication of knowledge (Katsigeorgis).

Since the beginning of the epidemic, HIV positive people have experienced stigma, stereotyping, and discrimination - sometimes leading to violence, always distressing. In the early days of the epidemic, this discrimination occurred due to the tendency of people to fear what they don't understand. There was a lack of understanding about what caused AIDS and how people could become infected.( AVERT) Stigmatizing perceptions of HIV see it as a life-threatening disease, associated with sex or stigmatized behaviors such as drug use, and conflicting with moral beliefs about choice and responsibility for disease(5). Stigma generates denial and secrecy about HIV/AIDS, which in turn lead to discrimination - people are treated unfairly because of their serostatus(5). Another solution to discrimination is to teach people how they can protect themselves and how they can become infected - so they know that there is no need to fear HIV+ people. For this discrimination to be dissipated, however, an effective AIDS education program