HIV AIDS has been named the Sub Saharan disease. In countries that have achieved significant
declines in HIV prevalence young people have registered the biggest behavioural changes. It
means they hold the keys not only to our understanding of the epidemic but more importantly
to the efforts required to stem the tide of infections. However the majority of young people
are ignorant of how to prevent transmission have low compliance to condom use which is in
some cases accentuated by misconceptions about HIV AIDS transmission and have insufficient
knowledge regarding transmission and avoidance behaviours. As such consensus on feasible
preventive interventions target young people particularly those in schools. It is on this
premise that the book unlocks the key pillars in effective HIV AIDS education policies and
practices.The study has drawn upon the experiences of selected Urban Schools in Malawi to
explore the needs of young people in classroom the extent to which the classroom practices
respond to the needs and the factors influencing these using questionnaires interviews
lesson observations and document analysis. Malawi typically represents most Sub Saharan
African countries in terms of challenges faced by education systems. Given the similar cultural
settings of the people of Sub Saharan Africa the findings and recommendations of the study
generalises to the education systems of Sub Saharan Africa to a greater extent. The book shows
the need for open discussion climates on HIV AIDS issues despite a conservative cultural and
religious adult world that is not open. It has also identified a need for explicit and accurate
knowledge on HIV AIDS issues opportunities to acquire behavioural skills for HIV prevention
and involvement of external speakers in classroom HIV AIDS education.Current classroom practice
does not address the pupils needs adequately. Factors influencing this can be linked to lack of
policies responsive to culture and religion ineffective and inadequate teaching policy
guidelines and lack of a policy prioritising HIV AIDS education. The findings suggest that in
future effective HIV AIDS Education needs to be informed by the pupils needs. To address these
needs support from the wider society and related policies coupled with appropriate management
and classroom practice will be required. The book is therefore an indispensable tool for
education systems in Sub Saharan Africa. It provides an effective model for the development of
effective HIV AIDS policies and practices in HIV AIDS education curricula.
