HIV/AIDS: The Epidemic Game

Introduction
Educators are often faced with the challenge of explaining the exponential effect of HIV infection. The following is a practical way of explaining this principle, but it also stresses the importance of effective HIV prevention as well as the individual’s responsibility for taking care of his/her own health.

Use this simple, but effective activity with 10 to 16 year old learners.

Objectives of the activity

• To build awareness of how rapidly HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), can be spread through unprotected intercourse, which is the primary way of transmission.
• To recognise the difference between casual contact and high-risk behaviours which can be harmful to their health.
• To understand that a person cannot tell if anyone is infected with HIV by judging their outward appearance.

Materials

• Note/index cards or folded pieces of paper
• Flip chart
• An open space where the learners can move freely

Preparation
Prepare one small card for each learner; they should all be the same colour. About 10% of the cards should be marked with an X and 5% should be marked with a C. Leave the remaining cards blank. Fold all the cards. (It might even be a good idea to stick the two sides of the folded paper together.)

Method

• Explain to the learners the objective of the lesson.
• Hand out the prepared cards. Warn the learners that they should not look at their cards but keep their cards folded in their hands.
• Tell the learners that they should move around the room and greet three people with a handshake, but it is important that they remember who they greeted. They should still not look at anyone’s card.
• After the greetings, ask everyone to sit down. Now, everybody should look at their cards.
• On a flip chart, write a red X. Ask everyone who has a red X to stand up. Inform the group that these people have HIV. Tell the group to take a good look at the people standing. Anyone who greeted these learners should also stand up. These people are now also infected.
• The next step should be to tell everyone to take a good look at everyone standing. Anyone who has greeted those who are now standing must also stand up. The learners that are now standing are infected with HIV too. Continue with this a few times until just about everyone is standing.
• Now write a ‘C’ on the flip chart. Ask those who are standing and has a ‘C’ on their cards to sit down. Tell the group that these people have used condoms. They are therefore not infected. Everyone can now sit down. Ask the group what they have learnt from this game. Write their answers on the flip chart.

Closure
Ask the learners the following questions:

• What was the major impression made by the activity?

Listen to their possible answers and elaborate on it:

• HIV can be transmitted rapidly and easily.
  Educator’s response: This is exactly why we did this activity. I’m so glad you saw that for yourself. This is one problem with sexually transmitted infections if you are not willing to make responsible decisions.
• You cannot tell if someone has HIV. Educator’s response: Absolutely, this is why the use of a condom was so important. It is also important to have the negotiating skill to insist on using a condom.
• Having contact with one person is equivalent to having contact with all the other partners of that person. Educator’s response: Exactly, you have really good insight into the problem that many young people are faced with.
• Ask the learners with the ‘X’ to describe to the group how they felt when they discover they were HIV positive. Ask the people with the ‘C’ to describe to the group how it felt when hearing they were not infected and could sit down.
• Lastly, ask the group how they could have avoided infection in this game. Possible answers:
• They could have refused to play the game. This would represent abstinence.
• They could also have insisted in seeing the content of their partner’s cards. This would open up the possibility to discuss the subject of voluntary testing and counselling.

Note: It is important to emphasize that this was a game to demonstrate HIV transmission. People cannot transmit HIV by simply greeting or touching each other. It is only through contact with bodily fluid such as having sex that HIV transmission takes place.. You should be careful that this exercise does not set a tone of blaming the victim.

(Adapted from Youth Peer Education Network 2008, Cyberpeer, A Computer Based Learning Tool for Peer Education)

Author: Pieter Visser
Reviewed by: Hendra van Zyl
Contact: afroaidsinfo@mrc.ac.za
Date: March 2010

Last updated: 5 March 2010