Foundation engages youths on HIV programme

Foundation engages youths on HIV programme
By Talatu Maiwada
Mentorship
Abuja, May 23, 2018 (NAN) AIDS Health Care Foundation (AHF), an NGO, says it will commence a safe space HIV and AIDS mentorship programme for young people to empower them to become peer educators.
Mr Steve Aborisade, Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the HIV and AIDS mentorship programme, which would commence in June, would be a multi-institutional model that would be replicated in all parts of the globe with young people at the lead.
Aborisade said the objective of the programme was to scale up HIV and AIDS prevention services so as to curb new HIV infection amongst youths, especially young women and girls.
He said the programme was also aimed at ensuring that young people living with HIV are enrolled and retained in HIV care for improved health outcomes.
“According to UNAIDS, despite progress made in HIV and AIDS response, young people especially women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV.
“In 2014, over three million young people between 15 and 24 years were recorded to be living with HIV, while more than 600,000 became newly infected.
“However, AIDS became the leading cause of death among young people in Africa, while for young women and girls the figures are grimmer with over 300,000 new infections occurring annually,’’ he said.
Aborisade further noted that the troubling statistics and trends highlighted the need for AHF to fully expand its advocacy and prevention interventions for young women and girls.
He added that AHF Africa had conducted a mobile survey and focus group discussions in South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria with key focus on HIV and STI prevention and treatment awareness.
Others include sexual reproductive health, availability and accessibility of youth friendly centres, communication, messaging and preferred campaign strategies. (NAN)
TIM/HS/MST
Edited by Halima Sheji/Muhammad Suleiman Tola