Against All Odds: HIV/AIDS Epidemic Among Indigenous Papuans.
Students listen to a lecture on HIV/AIDS at SMA Negeri 1, a government high school in Jayapura, capital of Papua. The course is taught by a teacher who only had 1 week of training and without books or visual help.
For many Papuan youth, a first sexual encounter can take place during their early teenage years, and some are sexually active by the time they reach puberty in their mid-teens. Life Skills Education (LSE), a curriculum that covers education on human reproduction, pregnancy, sex, STDs, and HIV/AIDS designed by UNICEF is taught in many high schools throughout Papua. However, this essential educational course is only available in schools located in cities but not in rural areas. Moreover, LSE doesn't reach many indigenous Papuan youth because many young Papuans are not able to attend high school. Additionally, many teachers lack sufficient training and essential materials such as books with up-to-date information and visual aids to adequately educate their students. Often, they encourage their students to seek additional information on the Internet. Detailed information on condoms is regularly excluded in lectures and reading materials because of the general perception that it will endorse pre-marital sex. Students carry incomplete information, misconceptions and misunderstandings into adulthood, which increase their vulnerability to the epidemic.
