Resources

With  the  unrelenting  spread  of  HIV,  the  AIDS  epidemic  has  increasingly  become  a  significant problem for the education sector. In the worst affected countries of East and Southern Africa there is a real danger that Education for All (EFA) goals will not be attained if the current degree of impact on the sector is not addressed. Even in countries  that  are  not  facing  such  a  serious  epidemic,  as  in  West  Africa,  the  Caribbean  or  countries  of  South-East  Asia,  increased  levels  of  HIV  prevalence  are  already affecting the internal capacity of education systems.  Ministries of education and other significant stakeholders have responded actively to  the  threats  posed  by  the  epidemic  by  developing  sector-specific  HIV  and  AIDS  policies in some cases, and generally introducing prevention programmes and new courses   in   their   curriculum.   Nevertheless,   education   ministries   in   affected   countries  have  expressed  the  need  for  additional  support  in  addressing  the  management  challenges  that  the  pandemic  imposes  on  their  education  systems.  Increasingly,  they  recognize  the  urgent  need  to  equip  educational  planners  and  managers  with  the  requisite  skills  to  address  the  impact  of  HIV  and  AIDS  on  the  education sector. Existing techniques have to be adapted and new tools developed to prepare personnel to better manage and mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The  present  series  was  developed  to  help  build  the  conceptual,  analytical  and  practical capacity of key staff to develop and implement effective responses in the education sector. It aims to increase access for a wide community of practitioners to information concerning planning and management in a world with HIV and AIDS; and  to  develop  the  capacity  and  skills  of  educational  planners  and  managers  to  conceptualize  and  analyze  the  interaction  between  the  epidemic  and  educational  planning and management, as well as to plan and develop strategies to mitigate its impact.