Perhaps Dr Khin Than Oo means this is the first time that CHEB has taken the audience into consideration in material development. But it is certainly not the first time that young people have participated in the development of health education materials in HIV in the country.
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Workshop develops youth HIV education materials
Phyu Lin Wai
Myanmar Times
A WORKSHOP was held in Yangon last month that gathered young people to discuss ways to create effective HIV/AIDS educational materials aimed at youths.
The workshop, which was held from June 26 to 30 at Panda Hotel in Lanmadaw township, was jointly organised by the Department of Health, United Nations Population Fund and the UN Children’s Fund.
It was attended by 34 young volunteers representing a range of non-government organisations.
Two cartoonists and two graphic designers also participated to help the volunteers translate their ideas into educational designs and pictures.
The workshop was kicked off by representatives from the Department of Health and various non-government organisations, who provided lectures on youth and HIV/AIDS, and the role of educational materials in preventing the disease.
The participants then brainstormed about ideas for the creation of HIV/AIDS educational materials for youths.
Dr Khin Than Oo, the director of the Central Health Education Bureau under the Department of Health, said the workshop marked the first time an attempt was made to get ideas from young people about producing HIV/AIDS educational materials aimed at their peers.
“In the past, senior officials and project leaders decided what messages should be included in educational materials aimed at the general public and targeted groups,” she said.
She said most education materials highlighted the nature of disease, the ways it is transmitted and preventive measures but were weak in making people aware of risky behaviour or trying to convince them to change such behaviour.
“As a result, many young people know about HIV/AIDS in general but they can’t analyse whether their behaviour is risky or not,” she said.
The Myanmar Times: 9 July 2007, Volume 19, No. 374
http://burmanews.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/workshop-develops-youth-hiv-education-materials/
