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With more than a million people taking refuge in temporary shelters, they are at greater risk of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, Sidibé said. "Programmes are urgently needed to reduce vulnerabilities to HIV and ensure protection."

As Haiti experiences a critical interruption of HIV services and programmes, stepped up support is vital for the country to allow it to regain momentum towards reaching universal access goals for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Haiti’s annual AIDS budget was $132 million prior to the earthquake, and UNAIDS believes that a further $70 million will be necessary to meet the country’s immediate response needs over the next six months.The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that about 285 000 houses had been damaged or destroyed in the earthquake, and government and humanitarian organisations, as well as engineers, are working to register the displaced and plan relocation sites for those who cannot return to their homes.

This paper considers how mobile phones have been taken up by citizens to create new forms of expression and power. The specific focus is the use of mobile phones in community development, with examples including the Grameenphone, agriculture and markets, the Filipino diasporic community, HIV/AIDS healthcare, and mobile phones in activism and as media. It is argued that mobile phones form a contact zone between traditional concepts of community and citizen media, on the one hand, and emerging movements in citizenship, democracy, governance, and development, on the other hand.

Fast Car: Travelling Safely around the World is a racing game that helps you to learn about HIV and AIDS prevention and takes you on a tour of some of the World's Heritage sites. The game aims to provide young people with accurate and reliable information about HIV prevention, intending to educate and entertain as well as promoting healthy behaviour. In this game, the player can race on circuits on five continents, and virtually visit some of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. It also presents images of sites and interesting facts about them as players race by.

A plan to introduce HIV testing for children as young as 13 at schools in South Africa has been fiercely criticised by student and teacher unions.The government believes that enabling sexually active pupils to know their HIV status could allow early access to life-saving treatment and help prevent the spread of the infection. But opponents of the voluntary programme say children may not be psychologically prepared to deal with a positive result or the stigma likely to follow.The tests are expected to begin at secondary schools next month during weekends and holidays. Allen Thompson, deputy president of the National Teachers' Union, said: "We suspect we may be heading for disaster. Even parents are afraid to take HIV tests, so you can imagine a 13-year-old. Some will be afraid to say no to their teachers."

Grassroots Soccer is an innovative organization that uses the power of soccer as an entry point to achieve its main objective of providing rigorous health education, focusing on HIV and AIDS

Led by coaches, in addition to engaging students in critical learning about HIV prevention, the program provides psychosocial support and the opportunity for kids to form trusting relationships with responsible adults who are role models.

the Grassroots approach of using fun and games achieves results. In a 2007 evaluation, it was found that children who went through the program had significantly reduced incidences of multiple sex partners compared to children who did not participate.

Kokolo is 20, just a few years older than her audience of 11th grade students at the Manzomthombo Senior Secondary School. The law student is part of a peer education effort that has young people teaching other young people about AIDS and prevention. "It works best when they get down to the real reasons why these kids are engaging in these behaviors and trying to warn them about the risks," said Melani-Ann Cook, a project manager for the program. "What we've found is that when our peer educators go (to the schools) ... they really look up to them." The success of the program and others like it is vitally important to the future of South Africa, which has the largest population of HIV-positive people in the world.

Peer education is only one of a wide array of programs under way to combat the problem. Some stress safe sex, use of condoms and care in selecting partners. Others stress abstinence. Some try to curb drug and alcohol use. Still others take aim at changing attitudes, gender roles, after school activities and erasing the stigma that attached to AIDS.

Students and teachers in four southern African countries are benefiting from an ambitious HIV programme spearheaded by UNESCO. From its start in 2008, the programme was designed to strengthen the education sector’s AIDS response in Angola, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.