December 2003

Programming for HIV Prevention in
South African Schools

Photo credit: Patrick Coleman/ICCP, Provided courtesy of www.infoforhealth.org

As national education programs incorporate HIV prevention into school curricula, policymakers and educators need to know what they can expect from these initiatives. Can such courses influence the behavior of students as well as their knowledge and attitudes? If not, what can these courses reasonably be expected to accomplish, and what part can they play in overall HIV programming for youth?

To help answer these questions, the Medical Research Council of South Africa and the Horizons Program studied the Life Skills Grade 9 Curriculum, a school-based HIV/AIDS initiative, as it was introduced in the Pietermaritzburg region of KwaZulu Natal Province in 2001. The 16-hour Grade 9 Curriculum is taught at least once a week over two school terms as part of the subject, Life Orientation. The national and provincial South African departments of education, health, and social welfare collaborated on the curriculum design, teacher training, and course introduction.

Horizons assessed the life skills program in KwaZulu Natal using both a population based survey¹ and an evaluation of the course curriculum. This report focuses on the impact of the curriculum that was being introduced to ninth grade students.

¹See Magnani, B. et al. 2003. "The Impact of Life Skills Education on Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviors," Horizons Research Summary. Washington, DC: Population Council.

• Study Methods and Study Subjects
• Key Findings
• Conclusion and Next Steps
• PDF format of summary (83 KB)

The principal investigators are Priscilla Reddy and Shegs James of the Medical Research Council-Cape Town, and Ann McCauley of Horizons/ICRW. For more information on this study, please contact Shegs James (shegs.james@mrc.ac.za) or Ann McCauley (amccauley@popcouncil.org). Jessica Greene of Horizons/Population Council compiled this summary.

Suggested citation: Reddy, P. et al. 2003. “Programming for HIV Prevention in South African Schools,” Horizons Research Summary. Washington, D.C.: Population Council.

About Horizons

Horizons conducts global operations research to improve prevention, care, and support program. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council in partnership with the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Tulane University, Family Health International (FHI), and Johns Hopkins University.

Copyright © 2003 The Population Council

See Also

• Population Council – Gender, Family, and Development Program
• Population Council – HIV/AIDS
• Transitions to Adulthood

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For additional information please contact: 
Horizons 
Population Council 
4301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 280 
Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: +1 202 237 9400 
Facsimile: +1 202 237 8410 
E-mail: horizons@popcouncil.org 

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This page updated 2 December 2005

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