On September 24, 25 and 26 the Panamanian Red Cross (PRC) became the first Central American national Society to begin a pilot project using the Caribbean Red Cross/CARAN "Together We Can" (TWC) youth peer education methodology for peer education on HIV and AIDS.

Sixteen young men and women, who are part of Red Cross School Brigades and current students of the Instituto Politécnico Angel Rubio, attended the workshop.

The school is situated in a lower income suburb of Panama City called San Miguilito which has one of the highest incidence rates of HIV/AIDS in the country. They received training in Sexual Transmitted Diseases, HIV/AIDS, on how to protect themselves by making good decisions and how to later share this knowledge with their peers.

The opening session took place with the presence of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Regional) HIV/AIDS Officer, Mrs. Norma Garcia de Paredes; head of the PRC Health Department, Mrs. Migdalia Salas; School Brigades Coordinator, Mrs. Margarita La Kay; and the Coordinator of the PRC "Together We Can" Programme, Mr. Miguel Angel Ariza. In addition, we had the participation of two PRC National Trainers, Mr. Alex Villarreal and Dashary Del Cid.

During the workshop, participants learned various strategies including peer educators' qualities and skills including the use of games, drama and group work to replicate the methodology and make the messages more dynamic.

At the end of the workshop, two participants performed a local traditional dance, certificates were presented and a symbolic candlelight ceremony took place as a personal commitment to spread TWC to their peers.

"It is a little known fact but four of the six countries in Latin America with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence are in Central America ", stated John Fleming, Regional Health Delegate.

"The World Bank is quite clear in its warning that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Central America is 'serious and worsening'. They warn that ' the epidemic threatens to run out of control unless prevention efforts are intensified' . I believe that the Red Cross has a key role to play in addressing these prevention needs. The TWC methodology has proved a success in the Caribbean and we can replicate that success in Central America ".

Already three Central American National Societies - Panama , Honduras and Nicaragua - have agreed to use the TWC methodology with training provided (in Spanish) by Regional TWC Trainers from the Dominican Republic .

"This has given us a key advantage in that we now have a group of Central American trainers who can begin the multiplier effect within their communities, which will lead to us addressing the needs of the most vulnerable populations including out of school youth," said Mr. Fleming.