PIP: This presentation focuses on the involvement of the Church in the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. The Church believes in the sacredness of life in every person and in a human dignity that needs to be respected. Therefore, people with AIDS should not be condemned, avoided, or rejected. The Church also points out the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness education in explaining the meaning of human sexuality in the context of marriage and religious teaching. Young people are also challenged to be faithful to their Christian valuesparticularly those of respect, sacrifice, discipline, and responsible sexual behavior. Due to the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS situation, both the Church and the government should take up the responsibility to prevent the spread of these diseases. Moreover, in addition to medical programs, Church-related organizations will continue to provide psychological, social, and economic support as well as counseling services.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome -psychology ; Endemic Diseases - prevention & ; control ; Mental Healing ; Papua New Guinea - epidemiology ; Religion and Medicine ; Self-Help Groups - organization & ; administration ; Stress, Psychological - prevention & ; control

PIP: This paper discusses the provision of sex education to grade 7 students in Papua New Guinea. Since officials in both the government and the Church are still hesitant on the question of including sex education in the curriculum, the author cites the reasons why there is a need to provide factual information about sexuality, STDs, and AIDS to everyone. Among the reminders given to decision-makers are the following: 1) nobody has ever become pregnant or become infected with an STD due to knowledge; 2) preventing people from gaining knowledge is a violation of their basic human rights; 3) there is no evidence to show that sexual knowledge itself leads to sexual experimentation, but there is much evidence that ignorance in this area leads to problems (e.g., abuse by peers, vulnerability to STDs, and pregnancy); 4) young people need to grow up and gain self-confidence; 5) true religion does not withhold knowledge. In the last part of this paper, some methods and practical advice on providing sex education are discussed.
Adolescent ; Child ; Cultural Characteristics ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Male ; Papua New Guinea ; Sex Education - methods