School Staff Training

Originated to meet pressing community needs in 2006, school staff training is a collaborative project between Botswana- Baylor and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MOESD). The training offered by Botswana-Baylor staff aims to equip teaching and non-teaching staff with knowledge, skills and attitudes to support HIV infected children in schools. The project is based on the realization that care for HIV infected children could be maximized if the major elements in a child's life (in this case family, school, community and health care) are responsive to their needs and when each of the elements operates to enhance the other. The project has been made possible with support from the MOESD, I-CATCH and PEPFAR through CDC/BOTUSA.

The workshops, given in Setswana, span two afternoons, with four hours each day devoted to lectures and question-and-answer sessions. The topics covered include the spectrum of pediatric HIV; treatment and medications; infection control; nutritional care; rights/ethics/legal issues; psychosocial needs of HIV infected and affected children; HIV prevention messages for pupils, students and school staff; and teaching strategies for all content.

In order to extend the reach of the project, Baylor staff support schools to tailor the course for their students and Parent Teachers Associations (PTA) or to integrate pediatric HIV education into other school health activities.

Baylor is also collaborating with the Department of Teacher Training and Development at MOESD to bring the course to students in Colleges of Education as part of pre-service HIV/AIDS training.