Quinet's Ugandan Adventure

As an African who was born and raised in Nigeria, but who has lived in the UK for the past 12 years, I wanted to gain some work experience in Africa at the same time as giving something back to my people.

I was interested in finding out about the similarities and differences between HIV care in the UK and Africa. I also wanted to explore differences in attitudes towards sexual health between Africans living in the UK and those living in Africa.

I taught students about HIV and AIDS at a school in Kassude. The class also included a condom and Femidom demonstration.

The age of the students ranged from 18 to 26 and it was interesting to hear what young people in Uganda thought about sex and sexual health.

I was concerned when I heard what some of the students had been told about HIV and condom use. Here are some of the things they believed:

• "Some condoms contain cancer or cause cancer."
• "If you put on a condom the fruit is not sweet."
• "The white man claimed that HIV and AIDS evolved because Africans had sexual practices with monkeys."
• "There’s more HIV here because people are unemployed and spend their time having sex."

But I was glad to be able to answer their questions:

• "How does circumcision relate to HIV prevention?"
• "Does kissing a vagina cause HIV?"
• "Why do people in UK and USA prefer practising homosexuality?"
• "I read in the newspapers that there is a drug, one tablet that kills the virus, is this true?"

The students raised their concerns about the lack of condoms, their high cost and the fact that many people do not know how to use them properly. They also spoke about the negative way in which women who carry condoms are perceived.

We had long debates in and out of the classroom, and the students benefitted from getting up-to-date and correct information about HIV and AIDS.

The school was attached to a privately-run community health centre which fewer people attended than the other health centres I visited, as many people cannot afford to pay for treatment. However, after my teaching sessions at the school, the uptake of HIV testing increased.

I would like to think that I made a difference in educating the young people and hope they will education their peers about HIV. This will contribute to HIV prevention in the area and help combat HIV-related stigma.