Many adolescent girls and young women lack a full range of opportunities and are too often devalued because of gender bias, leading them to be seen as unworthy of investment or protection. Social isolation, economic disadvantage, discriminatory cultural norms, orphanhood, gender-based violence, and school drop-out all contribute to girls’ vulnerability to HIV.
The DREAMS program – Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS-free Mentored and Safe – aims to reduce the incidence of HIV infections in adolescent girls and young women living in 10 sub-Saharan African countries.
World Education is implementing the DREAMS program in Uganda, a country where adolescents start having sex at a very early age, placing them at a great risk of contracting HIV. The program focuses on girls 10-14 years old to helpbring down the incidence rates while creating knowledgeable, educated, and empowered young women in Uganda. For those girls already at greatest risk in the age group 15-19 years, World Education will implement in-school interventions focus on reducing risky behavior and violence, while also empowering their families and communities to help keep them safe and in school, in order to reduce their changes of infection and offer them safer life options through knowledge and sustainable livelihoods.
World Education, through the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading program, implements the DREAMS school-based component in all 10 program districts. The program aims to reduce the incidence of HIV among adolescent girls in Uganda by 25%.
World Education strives to build lasting relationships with partners across diverse geographic regions and technical sectors to produce better education outcomes for all.
