In collaboration with
Gombe State Ministry of Education,
Gombe, Nigeria

Teachers Without Borders (TWB) is an international non- governmental organization that is committed to empowering, connecting and celebrating teachers to bridge the education divide as well as to the utilization of teachers for the actualization of the United Nations\u2019 (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and capacity building for teachers (educators).

I also have the singular honour and privilege to welcome our esteemed invited guests both local and international, who have made a date with us at this maiden International Conference of Educators, tagged Gombe 2008.

To our great partners that is, the Gombe State Ministry of Education,CISCO for the Clinton Global Initiative, Federal College of Education (Technical), Gombe and of course the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin Kowa, Gombe, I say a big thank you for your immense support and contributions that have made this conference a reality.

Finally, I commend the tireless and sleepless efforts of the Members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for working round the clock. I sincerely attribute the success achieved to the efforts of the LOC members. More grease to your elbow!

Mr. Raphael O. Oko,
Africa Regional Coordinator,
TWB, Abuja

Josephine Nkiru-edna Alumanah, Ph.D
Senior Lecturer
Department of Sociology/Anthropology
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

The importance of health education in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was assessed. The eight MDGs are related, however, reproductive health was considered, but specifically Goals 5 and 6 \u2013 maternal health and HIV/AIDS respectively. Health Education is \u2018the principle by which individuals and groups of people learn to behave in a manner conducive to the promotion, maintenance, or restoration of health. The ultimate aim of Health Education is Positive Behavioural Modification\u2019 (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). The AIDS epidemic is known to affect women, the young and the poor most. There is increasing evidence that unequal gender relations contribute to higher risk of HIV transmission for women and girls, as well as to low levels of use by women of family planning and maternal health services.

The World Bank referred to women\u2019s education as the single most influential investment that \u201ccan be made in a developing world\u201d (Ashford 2001: 24-25). It added that \u201ceducating women is an important end in itself\u201d, as well as a \u201clong term strategy for advancing women\u2019s reproductive health\u201d. Health education and health information programmes should also be emphasised in prenatal care, more so for primigravidas (first pregnancies). This will create awareness to make own choices of facilities, and also able to handle customary and legal barriers to women\u2019s health care, particularly in the area of decision-making.

As prevention is the major way to limit the spread of HIV, education is a fundamental way into every aspect of prevention, and is vital for behavioural change which can reduce risk and vulnerability. Proper education empowers individuals to make free and informed decisions, be in a position to negotiate sex and condom use. For many people in developing countries, antiretroviral (ATV) drugs and treatments are unaffordable, unreachable, and in some instances unavailable, thus, prevention is vital. There is evidence that education protects against HIV infection (Carr-Hill 2002, Duflo et al. 2007). Thus, education is a powerful aspect of prevention in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. Target-based HIV/AIDS education programmes can be effective in limiting the spread of HIV/AIDS and its opportunistic diseases. Since the transmission of HIV is mainly through heterosexual relationship, the problem is a behavioural