Deaf Today: North West : Deaf and Dumb Sensitised On HIV/AIDS

May 5, 2004

North West : Deaf and Dumb Sensitised On HIV/AIDS

From: AllAfrica.com, Africa - May 5, 2004

Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
NEWS
May 5, 2004
Posted to the web May 5, 2004

By Mizuh Mbah (camnews)

- A Non-governmental Organisation (Centre de resources d'animation et de la sensibilisation des sourds) known by its French acronym CERAS is currently integrating the deaf and dumb throughout the country in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

CERAS according to Simo Maurice, founder and director of the NGO was formed to take care of this underprivileged group that is often neglected in most international and national campaigns on HIV/AIDS.

"The fight against HIV/AIDS that has become the concern of governments and NGOs touches all social levels in our country," Simo Maurice told CAMNEWS in Bamenda. The Yaounde based NGO, which is presently extending its campaign activities to the provinces, is trying to get young deaf to be fully informed and armed against HIV/AIDs before they are integrated with other normal students in secondary and high schools. CERAS through its activities is involved in sensitising young deaf and training them on basic sexual education with focus on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDs.

Created on February 12, 2004, CERAS has already assembled more than 53 deaf and dumb who are receiving general information on HIV/AIDS. The youths aged 12 to 23 are also given knowledge on counselling and voluntary HIV/AIDS testing; modes of HIV transmission and methods of prevention. With moral support from the National AIDS Control Committee and UNAIDS, CERAS is bend on ensuring that deaf and dumb do not become victims of HIV/AIDS.

The future of the handicapped in general and the deaf in particular is an indisputable barometer for the development of a nation," said Simo Maurice.