Researches conducted by numerous scholars have suggested that there exist a positive relationship between education and HIV prevalence among children. Studies show that in the absence of awareness about HIV/AIDS, individuals tend to have several sex partners, hence increasing their risk of infection. According to Simmons, Fawzi and Bundy (2008), an increased sex education through prevention messages remains a protective element against the infection of HIV/AIDS.
Increasingly, research demonstrates that increased educational campaign among children has been used as a tool in fighting against the pandemic. Reduced education enrollment among children in rural areas has increased the rate of HIV/AIDS infection among children in Uganda (Kalipeni 174). Studies suggest that people with low understanding of the effects of HIV/AIDS are risky compared to children with higher levels of education.
According to a study conducted by Jukes, Simmons, Fawzi and Bundy (2008) on Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA) found that HIV/IADS specific education a positive contribution toward reduced prevalence among children in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Although the educational efforts to reduce the HIV/AIDS infection has had a far-reaching impact on the reduced levels of prevalence among Ugandan children, declined campaigns in the rural Uganda accounts for the low improvements in HIV/AIDS prevalence among rural children. These results suggest that children who underwent through education stood a better chance of avoiding unprotected and early sex compared to those who had little or no education (Dube, Shoko and Hayes 98).
Gender studies conducted demonstrate that girls with less than 7 years of study exhibited a higher likelihood of getting married before the age of18, and early marriages have a statistical link to high risks of infection (UNFPA, 2011). Schools provide a mechanism of sourcing for information about the prevention of HIV. Recent studies and analysis by Global campaign for Education (GCE) indicate that if children attained a complete primary education, it can reduce the impact of HIV by about 700, 000 cases among young adults.
Dube, Lilian, Tabona Shoko, and Stephen Hayes. African Initiatives in Healing Ministry. University of South Africa: UNISA Press.
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