This document defines peer education and the roles and qualities of peer educators. It states that a peer is someone from the same social group, and peer education is a process where well-trained people provide informal education to their peers to develop knowledge and skills to protect health. An ideal peer educator is a role model who motivates peers through activities like education sessions and one-on-one discussions. The goals of peer education are to reduce risky behavior, encourage knowledge of HIV status, and support stigma reduction.

1. INTRODUCTION TO PEER
EDUCATION

2. Who is a Peer?
A peer is a person who belongs to the same
social group as another person or group.
The social group may be based on:
- Age
- Sex
- Socio-economic status
- Sexual orientation, background
- Occupation , Department
- Health status and other factors

3. What is Education?
• refers to the development of a person’s knowledge,
attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors as a result of the
learning process.

4. What is Peer Education?
• Peer education is a process where by well
trained and motivated people, undertake
informal or organized educational activities
with their peers, aimed at developing their
knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and skills
enabling them to be responsible for and to
protect their own health.

5. who is a peer educator?
Is an individuals who has been trained, and is
making deliberate efforts to motivate his/her
peers to gain knowledge, skills and to change
their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors towards
the desired change.
He/she has accepted and adopted the desired
change and is therefore a role model to his/her
peers.

6. Qualities of a Peer Educator
• Willingness to volunteer
• A good role model
• A good communicator
• Good interpersonal skills, including listening skills

7. Qualities of a Peer Educator
• Self-confident
• Accepted and respected by their peers
• Should have a non-judgmental attitude
• Strongly motivated to work towards HIV risk
reduction

8. Qualities of a Peer Educator
• Available and committed to peer education
• Accessible to the peers
• Passionate
• Enthusiastic

9. Is there an Ideal Peer Educator?
Remember, no one can have all these
qualities!

10. The Goals of Peer Education
• To reduce risky sexual behaviour and HIV
transmission among peers.
• Encourage knowledge of HIV status
• Encourage positive living
• Support reduction of stigma

11. What it Means to be a Peer Educator
• Peer education removes the barriers between
knowledge and power
• Peer Educators conduct structured activities such as
education sessions and less structured activities
such as one-to-one referrals and answering
anonymous questions

12. Roles of a Peer Educator
 Recruit peers to attend meetings
 Organize and hold weekly group meetings with peers
on topics related to STIs, HIV and AIDS
 Hold one to one sessions with peers to discuss
problems or issues they bring up
 Refer peers to appropriate services for STI
treatment, counseling or VCT

13. Roles of a Peer Educator
 Distribute condoms
 Fill out forms for record keeping
 Give feedback to the management through the HIV
and AIDS coordinator
 Organise and carry out family and community
outreaches

14. Advantages of Peer Education
• Increased HIV and AIDS awareness among peers in
the work places
• Employees talk more freely about HIV/AIDS and
risky sexual behaviour (Breaking the Silence)
• Change of attitude and behaviour among both peer
educators and their peers

15. Advantages of Peer Education
• Peer Education helps to improve the Company’s
commitment to HIV prevention in the work place
- policies
- resources
• Reduced medical costs
• Reduced loss of skilled manpower

16. Do you need a peer education
Program?
Thank you