Teachers - Agents of Dissemination and Change Programme: A School-based HIV and AIDS Initiative

Teachers - Agents of Dissemination and Change (TAD), a programme of the Ghanaian government, was designed to provide public school teachers at the pre-tertiary level with information to enable them protect themselves and their students from being infected with HIV. It was also designed to provide guidance and methodology on the incorporation of HIV & AIDS (HIV/AIDS) messages into subject lessons. This was one of the multiple interventions adopted in the Ghanian formal education system in response to the national call for a multisectoral approach to confront the epidemic.

The TAD's specific objectives were to:

• Provide teachers, in their position as role models, and learners with relevant knowledge, desire, and means to protect themselves and others from infection.
• Equip teachers with knowledge and methodology to teach HIV & AIDS issues in the classroom as integrated in the curriculum.

The TAD Programme was designed to achieve these objectives through three strategies:

• Strengthen the logistical, information technology (IT), and human resource capacities of the HIV & AIDS Secretariat to enhance its coordinating and supervisory role within Ministry of Education (MOE).
• Support the revision, production, distribution, and effective use of HIV & AIDS integrated teaching manuals in all schools, to be disseminated through a national training programme to all basic and secondary public and private school teachers. The content covered 3 key areas: first, basic facts on HIV & AIDS; second, lesson plans illustrating how to incorporate HIV & AIDS issues into different subjects; and third, students’ activities;
• Support for the reproduction and distribution of existing information, education and communication (IEC) materials to all stakeholders in the education sector.

The programme was carried out in 3 phases: programme design and implementation mechanisms arrangements; TAD training of national and district personnel and local teachers; and an end-of -programme review, as well as production of a video documentary on TAD. The "National Launch” was a key component to create awareness of the programme. Three advocacy workshops were designed to solicit support and commitment of education directors and other stakeholders as key implementers. A baseline survey of 2 questionnaires and focus group discussions provided quantitative and qualitative results on knowledge levels and training needs.

"The study recommended the provision of skills to teachers to enable them to achieve the following objectives:

• Provide students with communication, negotiation, assertive and decision-making skills.
• Help learners identify behaviours that put them at risk.
• Advocate for HIV/STI [sexually transmitted disease] prevention programmes and policies.
• Help learners express empathy toward persons who may be infected with HIV.
• Initiate dialogue with learners to break the cultural difficulties in talks about HIV and sexuality.
• Help learners establish HIV Prevention clubs in schools.
• ...Appoint and empower focal persons for work place programmes and integrate monitoring indicators into the checklist of Circuit Supervisors and School Inspectors."

The document describes: training; mid-term assessment recommendations; monitoring; management structure; financing; and the end-of-programme evaluation and results.

Practices which received recommendations include:

• Collaboration among partners;
• Use of existing Ghana Education Service (GES) structures without creating parallel structures;
• Adoption of a decentralised approach to training - cost-effective in reaching teachers in large numbers; and
• Complementary TAD in-service training and pre-service training in HIV & AIDS.