Healthy & Smart Programme To Love Children (TLC) consulted with the World Health Organization, in the development of the Healthy and Smart Programme. Additionally, HIV/AIDS experts on traditional teaching methods were consulted in order to make the Programme interactive and impactful by using activities, communication channels, and graphics accepted by and/or familiar to the peoples we aim to serve. Healthy & Smart assumes Current officially sanctioned school-based HIV/AIDS programmes fail to effect real social change because their approach is didactic, literacy-based, and Eurocentric, and ignores oral and traditional forms of communication. A multi-pronged ‘ABCDEF’ approach to behavioural change to prevent transmission of HIV A = Abstinence: Do not have (sex); or postpone initiation of sexual activity until married. B = be faithful: with only one partner. C = Condom: Use condom. D = Drugs: Do not take illegal drugs! Do not inject drugs. Do not share needles, and do not share unsterilized needles. E = Empowerment: with education and life skills. F = financial independence: livelihood skills, train unemployed adolescents and help protect youth from exploitation and risky behaviours. TLC recognizes that much remains to ensure that youth remain virus-free, and to address the most vulnerable populations. Healthy & Smart uses a national, local government, and local community-based approach that seeks to maximize the involvement of all relevant actors and stakeholders. TLC also recognizes that students, youth, and young adults who participate in Healthy & Smart come from a range of cultural backgrounds, traditions, and learning styles. The reviewers of the Programme provided alternative and culturally relevant teaching approaches. TLC believes the use of non-western communication and a range of teaching methods to allow flexibility in how to implement Healthy & Smart’s Programme. Strategies and Goals Healthy & Smart Programme standards may be aligned to the expectations of colleges, workforce training programmes, and employers. Standards promote equity by ensuring all students equal access. TLC collaborates with local schools, communities, state, and national stakeholders in order to strengthen the capacity to coordinate and manage a multi-sectored response to the epidemic. Prevention efforts such as those inherent within the Healthy & Smart Programme support the first goal of reducing HIV prevalence. Healthy & Smart includes an interactive Programme, which focuses on building critical thinking and creativity skills and uses culturally relevant teaching methods. Healthy & Smart complements local, state, and national HIV/AIDS standards and policy. Healthy &Smart’s target population is male and female students, ages 14 to 19 years and vulnerable and disenfranchised females, ages 14 to 19 years. TLC’s objective To start with prevention to these populations as a primary focus of discussion, expanding as the Programme becomes accepted and sustainable, the overall goal to reach all interested stakeholders, students, and adults Overall Goal Healthy and Smart aims to reduce the spread of HIV, improve the quality of life of those infected and affected by HIV, and mitigate the socio-economic impact of the epidemic in the most vulnerable populations. Goals* 1. To increase health protective behaviors and decrease risk behaviors associated with HIV infection among vulnerable youth through use of HIV prevention curricula. 2. To increase accepting or supportive attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS among vulnerable youth through use of HIV prevention curricula.
