Only 7% of school children in E & S Africa have desired level of knowledge on HIV and AIDS

On World AIDS Day, new research conducted for the Global Monitoring Report  ‘Youth and Skills: Putting education to work’ shows the importance of investing in life skills education in school to ensure children have the confidence and negotiating skills to say no to sex and negotiate condom use.  Tests with around 60,000 grade 6 students in fourteen countries in South and East Africa showed that only 7% of school children in the regions have the desired level of knowledge on HIV and AIDS; and just 36% have even the minimum level of knowledge.

In twelve of the fourteen countries assessed in the regions, children from poorer households and those in rural areas scored significantly lower than those of high socio-economic status. In South Africa for example, one of the countries with the…