This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.
People living with AIDS and the virus that causes it suffer notonly from the disease, but also from the stigma linked to AIDS.Stigma means any bad thoughts or acts toward another person that arenot based on facts. People have stigmas about H-I-V and AIDS-infected patients for many reasons. The disease is connected toblood, sickness and death. H-I-V is often caused by actions that arenot accepted by many religions and communities. These include sexualactivities between men and the injection of illegal drugs. Also,people are afraid they will get the virus from being near people whohave HIV or AIDS.
Experts have created specialprograms, campaigns and education tools to stop the stigmatizationof people with AIDS.
One group, called the Change Project, has developed teachinginformation for people at the local level fighting the disease. Itis called a "Toolkit for Action."
The toolkit includes fifty-seven teaching exercises thatcommunity groups and educators can use to help improve people'sknowledge of the disease. The goal is to help people understandstigma, why it is an important issue, what causes stigma, and waysto end the stigmatization of AIDS patients.
The toolkit uses several training methods and materials. Forexample, many activities involve group discussions and the sharingof ideas, fears and personal experiences. Other activities requirepeople to present information or act out stories in front of otherpeople. There are even exercises that use pictures and songs.
The toolkit has exercises that deal with stigma in differentways. There are activities that teach about caring for HIV-AIDSpatients in the family. Other activities teach about stigma faced bychildren. There are also exercises to teach people about sex,morality and dishonor.
The Change Project created the toolkit with the help of theAcademy for Educational Development and the United States Agency forInternational Development.
It was developed from a three-country research project.
AIDS activists from more than fifty non-governmentalorganizations in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia helped write theexercises.
You can get the toolkit from the Change Project's Internet Website. That address is changeproject.org. Changeproject is all oneword.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. This is Robert Cohen.