Winner
HIV in Schools: A good practice guide to supporting children living with and affected by HIV
Summary of work
The HIV in Schools: Good practice guide to supporting children infected or affected by HIV was developed to address the information and knowledge gap that exists in schools in managing the needs of children living with or affected by HIV. Without specific guidance included in the teacher-training curriculum, teachers and schools are often unaware of the needs of these children or how to act when a diagnosis is revealed. The harm to a child caused by inappropriate reactions underlines the importance of schools to be ‘HIV-friendly’ safe havens for all children affected by HIV. Funded by a grant from ViiV Healthcare UK, CHIVA initiated a collaborative approach for the development of the Guidance, involving strategically aligned stakeholders to advise on the content and layout and to provide their support and endorsement. Working carefully with select education media, and closely with CHIVA’s Youth Committee, a story was crafted that harnessed awareness of the guide at a broader, national level and engaged the hearts and minds of policymakers, national stakeholder organisations and the general public alike.
Judges’ comments
HIV in schools was just right on so many levels. A strong, effective, multi-faceted and practical programme that clearly met its goals. Politically, it is always difficult to tell someone they are doing something wrong, but they understood the importance of getting everyone on board right from the start and achieved incredible results. We loved it!
