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A view of the participants (Photo: Teko Folli/US Embassy)

Students in Sikensi Sensitized on How Fight HIV/AIDS

The town hall of Sikensi was filled to its capacity on January 30, 2008 when US Embassy in Abidjan took its program dubbed "HIV/AIDS Caravan" to this city located about one hour off the capital. More than thousand students, teachers and local officials attended the two-hour program. It was designed to create awareness in combating and preventing this disease amongst the students.

According to Dr. Bertin Kouakou, Director of Sikensi Hospital, the spate of the HIV/AIDS in the community is taking an alarming proportion. He said, out of 300 people tested (mostly youths) in Sikensi recently, 10 per cent are HIV positive. The Principal of Sikensi High School, Traore Amidou, also said that sexual activities have become rampant amongst students resulting in many pregnancies. For this year alone, 54 girl students are reported pregnant -- most of them are first or second year's students. Against this background, all the officials welcome and sincerely thanked US Embassy for its decision to organize the HIV/AIDS Caravan in the city.

The session included a series of short videos on AIDS – made by African youths in French – for youth leaders and students on the situations and dangers young people encounter. This was followed by an extremely animated Q&A session. The program closed with a hot debate led by local health authorities and representative of CFMS-CI -- an organization of women in the media fighting against HIV/AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire. Each exhorted the audience to heed the program’s message.

The program closed with remarks stressing the importance of the fight against AIDS. Local official as well as teachers believed that this program offered both students and the population as a whole the opportunity to learn more about the disease and how to avoid it. At the end of the film show, the US Embassy presented books on HIV/AIDS, leaflets, stickers, pins, and gadgets -- with messages on PEPFAR’s efforts aimed reducing the spate of this disease in Cote d’Ivoire – to the school’s Health Club. The US Embassy also used this program as a window of opportunity to visit Sikensi Hospital, which was in a deplorable state.

US Embassy also reached out to the English Club of Sikensi High School and presented English learning materials to leaders of the group. As a result, the cultural section and the Information Resources Center of the embassy are planning to organize series of programs designed to sharpen students’ skills and knowledge in English. The program was covered by Sikensi’s local radio station, which interviewed the embassy’s officials, teachers, and students.