Who can participate in the course?
It’s meant primarily for people who work in health care as a doctor or nurse, but we also welcome people from the prevention field. We also reach professionals who might get involved with people with HIV or STDs: those who work with asylum seekers, with homosexuals, with drug addicts... And, of course, students of medicine or nursing. The six-month course costs €150, or €75 for students, and starts on 10 October. The lessons are in Dutch and are held here at the institute.

What is taught specifically?
Our approach is multi-disciplinary. We teach the basics of HIV and AIDS education, and we touch on some important aspects of sex education. But we also handle, for example, legal and psychological issues. Although in the West few people who are infected with HIV develop AIDS anymore, they still have a strong taboo resting on their shoulders. Imagine you recently became infected with HIV, and one day you met a friend you’d not seen for a long time. I doubt you’d tell him about it. But if you’ve had cancer, for example, you probably wouldn’t keep silent about that.

Does this course help fill the gaps in the medical curriculum at colleges and universities?
It definitely does. In the normal medical curriculum, HIV, AIDS and STDs don’t have a central place. Sometimes we hear stories of patients in hospitals where health-care professionals enter rooms with masks on. Everyone should know that HIV cannot be transmitted through the air.

Can people with HIV participate in the course?
Our course is not meant for lay people but for professionals or medical and paramedical students. Actually, in Belgium AIDS patients have become rare because most HIV-infected people take medicines that prevent the disease developing. It means you can’t tell from the outside any more if someone’s HIV positive. That’s one of the many issues that we clarify in our course.

www.itg.be/cursushivaids