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  • Title: The impact of religion and cultural values on AIDS education programs in Malaysia and the Philippines.
    Author: Osteria T, Sullivan G.
    Journal: AIDS Educ Prev; 1991; 3(2):133-46. PubMed ID: 1873137.
    Abstract:
    This paper examines the impact of cultural values and government policies on the content of AIDS educational literature prepared by public health agencies in Malaysia and the Philippines. The literature from these countries, which has been distributed to the public and is intended to inform them of the danger of AIDS, how the HIV is and is not transmitted, and how to avoid infection, is analyzed and evaluated for effectiveness and congruence with the dominant religious tenets and cultural practices in each country, and attitudes to sexual behavior. The paper also describes the response of these countries to the AIDS pandemic, and concludes with suggestions about how this form of AIDS education can be improved. AIDS is a pandemic that threatens the public health of every country in the world. In Southeast Asia, the impact of AIDS has been less than in other areas like Africa, or the West. Like many other countries from the region, the Philippines and Malaysia are classified as type 3 countries in terms of AIDS transmission. Thus, the response to AIDS has been less vigorous than in other countries. Malaysia is a diverse country with 60% of its population Malay, 31% Chinese, and 8% Indian. The malays are Muslim and the laws of the country can be described as consistent with conservative islamic customs. This means that laws are directed towards traditional family values of marriage and monogamy for women and against alternative life-styles like homosexuality, drug use, prostitution, premarital, and extramarital sexual activity. This context makes AIDS education very difficult since the lifestyles that put people at risk are illegal. The AIDS education campaign designed by the malaysian government is very naive in its presentation and relies on fear as a primary motivation to control the spread of AIDS. This strategy will fail because telling people to stop using drugs or prostituting themselves will not work. Evidence has shown in other countries that education about risk factors, rather than fear, is much more effective in slowing the transmission of AIDS. In the Philippines, 90% of the country's 60 million inhabitants are Roman Catholic. Their response to AIDS has been a public education campaign that includes elementary, high school, and college level education programs. Communication programs give information on HIV infection and transmission and prevention programs promoting condom usage for risk groups. The Filipino literature differs from the Malaysian literature in that it is more explicate in discussing risk factors and prevention advise is also more realistic. Every country must do something to help fight the spread of AIDS, but education programs that serve to reinforce traditional values instead of sale life practices will be less effective.
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