Fifty percent of those infected with HIV/AIDS in the world are in the age group of 15 to 25 years. In India, youth in this age group account for 35% of all HIV infections in our country. Therefore youth are a vulnerable group. The AHE program of ASHA Foundation started in the year 1999 and deals with introducing adolescent health education in schools for students in the age group of 13-16 years. In view of the target group of 13 to 16 years the program focuses on value based education and incorporates life skills education, responsible behavioral choices, character development, knowledge on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections and has an holistic approach to adolescence. The process involves :

Mr. Sunil Dutt (famed actor & politician) inaugurates the AHE Project

1. Training master trainers by ASHA Foundation staff.
2. The master trainers train teachers from different schools in 3 day workshops conducted by ASHA Foundation. They are provided with a training manual and other resources at the end of the workshop.
3. The teachers teach their students at weekly classes over a period of one year.

Thus far, ASHA Foundation has trained eight master trainers to train teachers. So far 31 teachers training workshops have been conducted, 1882 teachers have been trained in Karnataka and nationally. 330 private schools and partly aided schools have used the curriculum and more than 50,000 students have been taught this curriculum. There are two components to this education, the formal and the non-formal. The non-formal education focuses on children on the streets and from the slums. The program was conducted in eighteen districts of Karnataka and has presently expanded to Mumbai, Pune and Visakapatnam. Teachers have also been trained in Delhi, Kolkotta, and Shimla. Presently 108 schools are using the curriculum and 30,540 students are being taught. Two papers have been published in Indian education journals on the impact of this program on teachers and students. A book on the Adolescent Health Education - students response has also been published. Based on their experiences, thus far, ASHA Foundation is now busy with developing their own manual for Adolescent Health Education. The program co-ordinator of this project was a member of the panel to evaluate the state sexual health education program of the state government in the year 2006.

Teachers training workshop being conducted by AF staff in a school hall of a school in Gulbarga, Karnataka