Recent reports in Kenya of a Boy's suicide reveals gaps in HIV education, the boy was in secondary school when he received his fateful results which was accompanied by no counseling. Soon after his results where received to committed suicide by ingesting lethal amounts of pesticide. The boys death which occurred last month has sparked grave concern over the gap in HIV/AIDS education in schools;
“Serious awareness-raising and counseling of students on HIV is non-existent in schools here; the little information they have is either gathered from public meetings, dramas or media. The results sheet was a death sentence passed to him; he was not counseled or offered words of hope, hence his belief that testing positive was the end of life,” “It is possible he also feared isolation by the community.” said one of the boy's teachers, who preferred not to be named.
The boys death in Kenya was obviously trajic and highly preventable, but it leaves one to question how many other young people are committing suicide out of misinformation and fear of a life living with HIV/AIDS? Education is a huge gap in many countries, especially in rural areas, and this case only highlights the urgent need to see that education and awareness programs are put into place in both schools and communities across Africa.
