in Azerbaijan

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Rasul Efendiyev, Director of Project Implementation at the Ministry of Health

My name is Rasul Efendiyev. I am Director of Project Implementation Unit HIV AIDS and tuberculosis in Azerbaijan. In this course we say if you know that someone that has tuberculosis illness, one of your friends, you can force him, you can suggest to him to go to the doctor, you can help him. You should not avoid or ignore him that is an important moment of Life Skill Based Education and I have to tell that children really enjoyed having such a class. It’s not just a lesson, it’s questions and answers.

Most of people asking why it’s so important to target the youth to try and talk about HIV AIDS given the country’s low prevalence rate. When asking this question I would say that youth is more exposed to HIV risk because they are sexually active and their behavior seems to be governed rather by peer pressure than established social rules.

Their vulnerability to HIV AIDS is increased by lack of understanding of the change associated with adolescence, lack of knowledge and skill that could help them to make healthy choice and also link them to appropriate health services. At the same time, the youth are also our greatest hope for changing the course of the AIDS epidemic. Its one of the ways to stop the spreading of HIV infection and allowing the country to keep a low prevalence rate.