Zambia Daily Mail, 8 August 2014

...Reflections from the AIDS 2014 Conference
ADOLESCENCE is a defining period in the growth of a young person.
Supporting young people to successfully navigate this stage of life can help break the cycle of poverty and produce great benefits for individuals, communities and countries.

During adolescence, a growing person has the possibility of being exposed to life-risking activities such as unprotected sex, early marriage and abuse.

It is also during adolescence that most individuals discover their real worth and status when it comes to whether they are HIV-positive or negative.

During the recent International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) held in Melbourne, Australia, from July 20 to 25, 2014, representatives of hundreds of entities involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS reflected on the adolescent epidemic.

It is a fact that while adolescence is a time of dreams and possibilities, it is also a time of confronting great risks, particularly for girls.

Adolescent girls face the risks of early childbirth and marriage, dropping out of school and acquiring a variety of sexually-transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS.

These consequences diminish the opportunities of adolescent girls and jeopardise their future.
According to the UNFPA 'Adolescent Report for 2013', Zambia ranks as the fifth highest in terms of the prevalence of teen pregnancies in sub-Saharan Africa, with an average of 17,600 young girls dropping out of school every year.

The pattern remains high in all southern African countries, demanding the need for strategic responses to arrest the situation.

Addressing the AIDS 2014 Conference, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sedibe challenged the world to end AIDS by 2030.

He shared his vision as:

"Voluntary counseling and testing reaching everyone, everywhere, each person living with HIV reaching viral suppression, no one dying from AIDS or being born with AIDS and people living with HIV living with dignity and protected by laws."

Sedibe cited HIV as the leading cause of adolescent mortality in Africa, and emphasised the need to accelerate prevention efforts, especially among adolescents.

And during a Southern African Development Community (SADC) satellite session at 'AIDS 2014', Dr Fabian Cataldo, a social anthropologist and senior research scientist for Dignitas International presented research findings of a study that explored psychosocial as well as sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of adolescents aged 10 to 19 years living with HIV in southern Africa.

The study identified gaps between needs and available SRH and HIV-related initiatives.

Interviews with a total of 1,977 adolescents and 164 parents, guardians and healthcare workers revealed that there are limited HIV and AIDS services for adolescents, both for prevention and treatment.

Counsellors trained on how to deal with the special issues of adolescents are available in only a few sites offering youth-friendly SRH or HIV services.

While the need for adolescent-friendly services and to integrate SRH with HIV/ART (antiretroviral therapy) services is well acknowledged, such important initiatives remain scarce and under-funded, with younger adolescents often overlooked or ignored.

Most adolescents who were born with HIV feel isolated and unable to talk freely about HIV with their friends and families.

Parents and guardians of HIV positive adolescents also feel ill-equipped to discuss the status of the young ones who are living with the infection.

In addition, taking ART represents a daily challenge for these children, especially when they need to take the medication at school or outside the home.

At Panos Institute Southern Africa (PSAf), we believe that adolescence is a critical stage of human development.

In this phase, children experience rapid social, physical, psychological and emotional changes on their path from childhood to adulthood.

The decisions made during this period of life affect not only the individual well-being of young people, but also the well-being of the entire society.

It is therefore crucial to create positive household and community environments where children will overcome challenges during adolescence, as they transition into adulthood and bring great benefits to the community.
PSAf takes these critical reflections on adolescence seriously, and in the ongoing projects on child protection aims to empower communities to support adolescents, thereby also stepping up the pace of addressing the adolescent HIV and AIDS epidemic.

The author is executive director of PSAf. Email: Alamat email ini dilindungi dari robot spam. Anda memerlukan Javascript yang aktif untuk melihatnya..

Written by Online Editor

Source: Zambia Daily Mail