HIV/AIDS education in Cameroon

Anna Howey on the Playstreets HIV/AIDS project in Buea, south west Cameroon.

HIV education workshop UAC football match World AIDS Day poster Girls from the workshop preparing for a World AIDS Day show Students contribute to artwork at a workshop

Out of Cameroon's population of 16 million, it is estimated that five to ten per cent are infected with HIV, roughly one in every 14 people (which is better than many other African countries). However, it is thought that many more people are infected and do not know about it, are unwilling to be tested or just cannot afford the costs of testing, which may include transport over long distances to access the 14 testing centres in the country.

In other words HIV is still silently spreading through Cameroon and there is an immediate need for preventative education. In this area the government has been refreshingly proactive, establishing local AIDS committees in villages, reducing the price of antiretroviral therapies to around three pounds a month and committing to the World Health Organization's (WHO) three by five campaign. As well as these government measures, many smaller NGOs exist in each province and one of these is the organisation United Action for Children (UAC).

UAC focuses mainly on working with children and young people in the south western town of Buea, nestled beneath the highest mountain in West Africa, Mount Cameroon. One of UAC's projects is the HIV/AIDS education project known as Playstreets, which is based on combining a national love of football with an interactive workshop on HIV. The idea is that if you place a group of white people (who are still a relative novelty here) in a village field with a shiny new football, it will attract attention. And it works: out of pure curiosity people emerge from dusty houses and verandas, and are then invited to participate in a workshop - with games, drama and discussion - about HIV and AIDS.

Since September, this workshop has been taken to villages and schools around Buea and the team happily found that many people have a good basic knowledge of HIV facts. The area for development lies in breaking the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, and encouraging people to talk about socio-economic issues which personally affect them. It would seem that having HIV and AIDS here is thought of as a shameful death sentence, rather than a manageable chronic illness, partly because of the association with promiscuity many people make.

When asked the question, "Why is HIV such a problem in Africa?" many Cameroonians recognise that poverty and lack of education are factors. However the government, combined with the WHO, is actively working to improve access to testing and treatment, so the next thing that needs to change is attitude. As a local doctor commented recently to me, "AIDS is not killing people, the stigma and shame associated with AIDS is". This is where one of the greatest challenges remains in tackling HIV in Cameroon.