🎓 COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This comprehensive course is designed to equip learners with essential knowledge and practical skills for addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic through prevention, care, counseling, and support services. It provides a deep understanding of HIV/AIDS—its biology, transmission, treatment, and psychosocial dimensions—while emphasizing compassionate, ethical, and culturally competent approaches to working with affected individuals and communities. The course blends theory with applied practice, making it suitable for healthcare workers, social workers, educators, counselors, community advocates, and anyone involved in HIV/AIDS response and care.

🎯 COURSE OBJECTIVES: 

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Understand the fundamental concepts of HIV and AIDS, including their biology, transmission routes, and risk factors.

• Analyze global and local epidemiological trends and the historical and social context of HIV/AIDS.

• Apply effective prevention strategies, including behavioral, biomedical, and structural interventions.

• Demonstrate skills in pre- and post-test counseling, HIV disclosure, and patient-centered communication.

• Support individuals living with HIV through psychosocial support, stigma reduction, and linkage to care.

• Utilize knowledge of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for treatment adherence, monitoring, and referral.

• Engage key and vulnerable populations with culturally appropriate interventions and advocacy.

📚 COURSE MODULES:

• Module 1: Understanding HIV/AIDS

• Module 2: HIV Prevention Strategies

• Module 3: HIV Testing and Diagnosis

• Module 4: HIV Treatment and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART)

• Module 5: Psychosocial Support and Mental Health

• Module 6: HIV Counseling Skills

• Module 7: Working with Key and Vulnerable Populations

• Module 8: Community Engagement and Education

• Module 9: Legal, Ethical, and Human Rights Issues

• Module 10: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Sustainability in HIV Programs