HIV Prevention Program for Youth
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Today, young people (15-24) account for 40 per cent of
all new adult HIV infections. Each day, more than 2400 young people become
infected with HIV—and some five million young people are living with HIV. Young
people are a fulcrum. They remain at the center of the epidemic and they have
the power, through their leadership, to definitively change the course of the
AIDS epidemic. Experience over the past decade has demonstrated how to address
HIV among young people. In countries with concentrated epidemics, programs and
resources must focus on adolescents and youth who engage in risky behaviors,
including injecting drugs, selling sex and men who have sex with men. In
countries with generalized epidemics, where the general population is at risk,
all vulnerable young people, particularly young women, need to be targeted
priority in policy and program design. Evidence shows that sex education helps
in reducing the risk of HIV by delaying the onset of sexual activity and
encouraging safer sexual behavior.
The majority of young people who are acquiring HIV are
those who inject drugs, very few of whom have access to evidence-informed HIV
prevention and treatment services. Achieving universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support for all, including young people.
Accurate and comprehensive knowledge about HIV is still
low among young people and investment in education is needed. Delayed onset of
sexual activity and increased use of condoms have contributed to a decrease in
HIV incidence among young people in most of the countries. Out of 45 countries
with survey-based trend data, 17 are starting to show a steady increase in HIV
prevention knowledge among young women. Several high prevalence countries are
also showing stabilization of their HIV epidemic with notable behavioral
changes among young people in terms of age at onset of sex, multiple partners,
and condom use. Many challenges still persist in translating lessons learned
into practice.
Young
people still need more opportunities for meaningful engagement in advocacy and
decision making.
OUR APPROACH
We plan to run an effective prevention campaign. The aims
of any prevention campaign should be to reduce the infection rate. Here are the
key things that should be done:
·
Educating
everyone to understand how HIV and AIDS is spread and what we can do to protect
ourselves. We must encourage our youth to change sexual behavior.
·
Promoting
openness so we can break down the stigma and silence surrounding HIV and AIDS.
·
Making everyone
aware of the plight of people living with AIDS and the problems faced by their
families, and mobilizing communities to help care for people who are affected.
·
Encouraging
testing for all people who are sexually active and making sure there is proper
counselling that goes with the testing.
·
Ensuring
people understand their rights and the treatment options once they have been
diagnosed.
Public education and awareness programs are most
effective when we plan and prepare well and have the following:
·
A clear
target group that we want to reach and a good understanding of the target
group’s culture, language and attitudes
·
The right
slogans and messages to really influence and change the target group
·
The right
methods to reach our target group
·
The
people and resources to implement the programs
HIV/AIDS PREVENTION ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH
A.
Workshops
A workshop can be a
few hours long and is a good way to educate people. Workshops give people a
chance to discuss issues in more detail. Try to make the workshop exciting and
participatory – no one wants to sit and listen to a long lecture. (See workshop
outline). Workshops are more difficult to handle and your trainers or
facilitators should be trained to run them. Always send inexperienced people with
experienced people until they build confidence.
B.
Plays,
songs and music
Culture can be a very
effective way of getting your message across to people who do not want to sit
in meetings or workshops. Involve local cultural groups in developing education
programs. We will also organize cultural or talent competitions for schools and
youth groups.
C.
Community
meetings
Use meetings of
interested people from your community or from a specific target group, where
people come together to discuss HIV and AIDS or a specific issue related to HIV
and AIDS. Try to involve sympathetic community leaders like politicians,
councilors, religious leaders and health workers. For example, ward councilors
can call ward meetings and church leaders can organize an interfaith
event. Meetings work best if people have a chance to give their views,
ask questions and discuss problems and solutions. The leaders should be there
to listen and to give some information and direction. Speakers should make only
a very short introductory speech that covers the main issues/problems and then
ask the participants to give their experiences and their views about what
should be done. Leaders can sum up the way forward at the end of a forum.
D.
Pamphlets
Pamphlets are a good
way of spreading information about HIV and AIDS and services offered by
organizations. The Department of Health has many simple pamphlets you can use.
If you write your own, keep pamphlets short and simple. Translate them into the
most common languages used in your area. Make sure you distribute them properly
and to the right target groups – otherwise you can waste a lot of money.
·
We have
to actively promote openness about HIV and AIDS and create a more supportive
environment for people living with HIV and AIDS. Unless we bring the disease
into the open, we cannot deal with it effectively. If we cannot break the
silence ourselves, we cannot expect the rest of society to do so.
·
As
organizations we can:
·
Encourage
and support people living with HIV and AIDS to go public about their status
·
Ask
people living with HIV and AIDS to sit on platforms and speak at meetings with
our leaders
·
Encourage
testing by organizing testing drives and asking those leaders who are willing
to, to go public about their results
·
Create
role models for how to cope with HIV and AIDS, by encouraging our leaders and
other influential people who are HIV positive to reveal their status and to
help campaign and raise awareness.
·
Awareness
campaigns are used to make issues visible and to change public attitudes. They
should aim to get publicity and to directly reach thousands of people. Be
sensitive in the way you campaign. People are easily turned away by campaigns
that are too aggressive or negative. Here are some methods you could use:
·
AIDS
ribbons - everyone should wear the red AIDS ribbon to show their support –
especially local leaders.
·
Banners –
make a striking banner and hang it in a prominent place. Take it to places
where many people gather – like soccer matches. The banner should have a clear
message with a slogan and a picture if possible.
·
Posters/pamphlets/graffiti
– use posters and pamphlets to raise the issues or give people information. Get
them from other organizations or make your own. Get permission from the council
to paint an educational mural in a public place.
Most people who are
HIV positive do not know it. This means that they will unknowingly spread the
disease to their partners while they are in the early stages.
There are few, if
any, symptoms in the early stages of the disease. The flu-like symptoms that
often occur shortly after infection usually pass quickly so most
people do not know that they have become HIV-positive
(seroconverted is the medical term)). This underlines the importance of people
being tested even if they have no symptoms. Testing should not be a once-off
activity. Encourage people to be tested every couple of years.
We should stress four main things as good reasons for
testing:
·
If you
know you are still negative, you can make sure that you protect yourself and
stay negative.
·
If you
know that you are positive, you can do the right things to stay healthy.
·
If you
know that you are positive, you can protect your partner by practicing safe
sex.
·
We should
also stress that it is the right thing to do and that it is our moral
responsibility to not spread the disease. This should not be the main reason we
use. The four listed above may be more effective since they appeal to people’s
self-interest. It is also important to set up counselling and testing in places
where it is comfortable and where people can go without others finding out. The
facilities should be open at times when working people can get there. There
should also be a referral system in place so that when someone tests positive
they can be offered other forms of support. We must use all our public
education and awareness methods to promote testing.
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