This training is presented through a harm reduction person-centered approach geared toward professionals aiming to educate community members about HIV. The training will provide participants with basic and updated information about the history of the HIV pandemic, sexual transmission, mother to child transmission, risk factors, modes of transmission, signs and symptoms, prevention, and the inter-relationship between HIV and other STDs. Participants who successfully complete this course will be better equipped to talk about sex and injection drug use. Emphasis will be placed on exploring and reducing our own discomfort related to topics many consider taboo, and how to reduce HIV-related stigma.
Course is a full day session and can be delivered either by ZOOM or in-person
Fast Facts on HIV/AIDS
- HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed 40.1 million [33.6–48.6 million] lives so far.
- In 2021, 650 000 [510 000–860 000] people died from HIV-related causes and 1.5 million [1.1–2.0 million] people acquired HIV.
- There is no cure for HIV infection. However, with increasing access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, including for opportunistic infections, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic health condition, enabling people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.
Reliance on CHWs to support care for those living with HIV as well as provide risk reduction education is growing. CHWs provide valuable services in HIV programs, including referring community members for HIV testing, linking them to care, accompanying them to clinic appointments, providing psychosocial support and making referrals to other services, They often understand the ommunities they serve in a unique way and build rapport with clients in ways that benefit the client and the health care team. This course is a basic introduction to the fundamentals of HIV/AIDS.
What You’ll Learn:
- Understand the history of the HIV Pandemic
- Be able to describe modes of transmission for HIV
- Describe the signs and symptoms of HIV infection
- Understand risk factors for HIV infection
- State preventive factors to HIV infection
- Describe the role of CHWs in HIV prevention and care