‘Talk what others think you can’t talk’: HIV/AIDS clubs as peer education in Ugandan schools

Abstract

The clubs will do peer education; the clubs will be a forum for affected students to share their experiences. (HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor, Ministry of Education, 4 October 2004) The clubs extend what we do in the communities. We train the leaders so that they can do peer education. (AIDS health official, 2 October 2004) In this article, we make the case that HIV/AIDS clubs in Ugandan schools provide valuable information to students who may not have easy access to health services. As one club motto suggests, the clubs ‘talk what others think you can’t talk’. The innovative peer education methods, which include drama, popular culture and community outreach all have great appeal to youth, and provide unique opportunities for female students to raise gender issues and develop leadership skills. We conclude that innovative adaptation of the Ugandan model may complement other HIV/AIDS educational programmes in Africa and beyond.