South Africa has an estimated 5.7 million people living with HIV, and this is amongst the highest numbers globally. Prevalence is high amongst young people, and more than half of new infections are usually amongst the youth aged 15-24 years old. Despite the high prevalence amongst children and adolescents, very few organisations working in communities and households have youth-focused HIV preventions interventions. World Vision in partnership with USAID, have established and implemented a programme that seeks to prevent, reduce risk and build resilience amongst the youth.
Presenting at the national OVC conference currently underway in Durban, World Vision SA’s Program Development Advisor, Dr Tirhani Manganyi presented practical interventions that have yielded positive results with regards to HIV prevention amongst adolescents. Through this programme, positive behavioral change among adolescents is promoted through; in-school peer education, community-based curriculum, intensive and specialized clinical support (addressing depression and coping skills), community based youth clubs and girls only camps. However, World Vision acknowledges that behavior change is complex and a long-term process, and the adolescents require significant exposure to structured risk reduction to contribute to positive human behavior change.
The presentation generated debate and discussion amongst the delegates attending the conference.
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