KAMPALA: Worldwide about 1.8 million adolescents are living with HIV/AIDS. (UNAIDS 2019) 85% of these live in sub-Saharan Africa, and a total of 60% are girls.
In Uganda alone, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS lies at 2.8% among school-going adolescents (130,000 adolescents) and 1.4 million young people are living with HIV. These are real people behind each statistic which ultimately emphasizes that HIV/AIDS continues to deeply affect the lives of adolescents, young people, and their families around the country and the world in general.
Since the year 2021, The Nile Explorer bus project, a mobile programming platform that is designed and implemented by Open Space Centre with support from the US Mission Uganda and PEPFAR, has traveled to over 12 districts in Uganda and empowered over 400 adolescents aged 12-24 years with age-appropriate health information that will enable young learners in secondary schools to make healthy life choices and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Although the majority of adolescents are aware of the deadly disease, new HIV infections among adolescents continue to rise despite best efforts to reverse the trends.
In recognition of this fact, Open Space Center joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Aids Day which is marked on the 1st of December every year.
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This year’s theme “Equalize” resonates with the fact that adolescent girls and young women continue to suffer the greatest disease burden of HIV and other sexual and reproductive health risks. The structural drivers that increase the risk for HIV and unwanted pregnancies: are the overarching poverty levels, gender inequality and the inability of young girls to refuse sexual advances from their peers and community members, sexual violence, and a lack of education on myths and misconceptions as well as meaningful interactions.
In addition to this, the viral load suppression among HIV-infected persons aged 15-24% is approximately 50% compared to 90% rates among older adults. These observations suggest that there is a need for HIV prevention interventions to start at a younger age for adolescents which is ultimately the focus during the Nile explorer health component trainings.
Some of the students’ success stories from the Nile Explorer health trainings include; Barbarita Morris Kyeyune, a 17- year-old student at Pride College School, Mpigi, noted that the Nile Explorer program is good and helps her gain more experience and fun as she makes new friends while learning about HIV/AIDS prevention especially during the period while they are out of school.
Juliet Nabukenya, a 15-year-old resident of Rakai District, said the program has both enlightened her and reinforced her ideals concerning persons, especially the young people, living with HIV/AIDS in her community. “Every problem has a solution. It is not only we the youth who lose hope, but even the elders can also lose hope. For example, in this COVID-19 holiday, if a boy or girl finds out they are HIV positive, they start to get worried and might even consider suicide,” Nabukenya narrated.
In conclusion, the need to advance youth-friendly services and information sharing for young adolescents in matters relating to their sexual and reproductive health remains crucial to their success in school and ability to avoid risky sexual practices. The Nile explorer bus program is therefore an innovative approach to preventing new infections among adolescents and is essential to achieving an AIDS-free generation.
