Abstract :
HIV/AIDS is a threat to national development worldwide. Research has indicated that societies carrying the heaviest burden of HIV/AIDS are the poor developing societies of the world. The link between poverty and HIV/AIDS is well established. HIV/AIDS could only be dealt with if action is carried out on numerous fronts, including the educational front. Unfortunately, Swaziland, a developing kingdom on the South Eastern part of the African continent, only has one university which cannot enrol all qualifying candidates. The limited resources at the University of Swaziland makes Open and Distance Learning the only way forward to educate the Swazis on HIV/AIDS. This paper discusses factors fuelling HIV infection in Swaziland. It shows how multi-sectoral collaboration could be used to solve the problem of HIV/AIDS. This paper further describes the role which Open and Distance Learning could play in combating HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. The sole aim of this description is to create awareness on the potential the Institute of Distance Education (IDE) of the University of Swaziland has in the fight against HIV/AIDS. To achieve the objectives of this paper, the researcher reviewed secondary and primary literature on the prevention and mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Primary sources reviewed, were mainly reports from international and national organizations involved in HIV/AIDS issues like the Department for International Development (DFID), the World Heath Organization (WHO) and those from United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) and the National Emergency Response Council Against HIV/AIDS (NERCHA). These reports contain empirical findings which the researcher used to describe the HIV/AIDS Scenario in Swaziland. In that manner, the researcher was able to come up with a proposal whose emphasis is on the need to use Distance Education as a collaborative strategy in combating HIV/AIDS in Swaziland.
