Peer educators trained in an EFA International-sponsored program have educated more than 6,000 people in Cameroon’s Far North region about HIV transmission and prevention. The January-June training involved 14 HIV-positive youth in a course about the virus’s biology, as well as how to prevent, transmit and live positively with HIV.

The program’s combination of education and follow-up evaluation empowered volunteers to speak openly about the virus in seven communities, in turn reducing stigma for themselves and HIV-positive persons in the future.

Now you can wear EFA threads to spread the word and do good! Select a t-shirt with the Cameroonian proverb “Rain does not fall on one roof alone” or create your own custom design. 100% of merchandise proceeds benefit HIV+ youth in Cameroon and Rwanda.

The efforts of Cameroonian youth to prevent new HIV infections through safer sex is showing results! A recent UNAIDS study reports that both males and females in Cameroon are using condoms more frequently with their partners. Learn more about the study and how EFA’s Regional Office in Cameroon, the Youth Empowerment Network and Peer Educators are helping contribute to this result.

EFA International proudly announces that it is a grant recipient of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)’s Volunteer Activities Support and Training (VAST) program. With the help of Peace Corps Volunteer technical assistant Caitlyn Bradburn, the Cameroon Regional Office secured $3,000 to fund its Peer Education trainings for the summer of 2010.

Nearly 100 Washington, D.C.-area residents gathered in the Eighteenth Street Lounge’s warmly lit Gold Room on the evening of April 29. Attendees were present for a fundraiser supporting Education Fights AIDS (EFA) International, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that empowers African youth infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS in Cameroon and Rwanda. Alim Ousmanou, EFA International’s Cameroon country representative, spoke at the fundraiser—one stop on a visit marking his first time in the U.S. Invited to participate in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program from April 3-23, 2010. Check out fabulous photos of the event on Facebook.

Though this report captures the main quantitative results of our work in Cameroon and Rwanda to promote the successful future of African children and youth infected with and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, the voices of our beneficiaries speak louder than any numbers or figures you’ll find in this report.