Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF) and Homa Bay County government have come up with a programme that will ensure that youth and especially adolescents are sensitized on HIV and AIDs in the county.
Young people are at the center of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Their behavior, the extent to which their rights are protected, and the services and information they receive determine the quality of life of millions of people. Young people are particularly susceptible to HIV infection and they also carry the burden of caring for family members living with HIV/AIDS.
Around the globe, AIDS is shattering young people’s opportunities for healthy adult lives. Nevertheless, it is young people who offer the greatest hope for changing the course of the epidemic.
According to EGPAF county director Eliud Mwangi youth who are vulnerable the county have been left out in the fight against HIV and AIDs and most of them do not know their health status. Speaking throughout the inaugural Homa Bay Adolescents Health Symposium at Homa Bay Senior High School, Mwangi stated numerous youth usually have prevented testing because of stigmatization and discrimination.
“We have specifically set aside some funds to run the programme for the youth who have not been actively involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Homa Bay, which has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country.
The latest report by National Aids Control Council shows that Homa Bay has the highest HIV prevalence rate in Kenya at 25.7 per cent against the country’s 6.04 percent. According to the County Aids and STI Control (CASCO) Willis Omwonyo the data does not include the youths and the adolescence in the Country.
He however said they are in the process of creating data base on HIV programme for youths and especially the adolescents to know the actual figure of the teenagers who are infected.
“If we want to tackle HIV infections and sexual reproduction in Homa Bay, we must ensure that the adolescents are involved,” said Omwonyo. He added, “It is a fact that one out of four people in Homa Bay is living with HIV, the question is what are we doing about it.”
Based on the county executive committee member responsible for Education and ICT Naphatally Mattah, 60 percent of faculty going youths haven’t been examined and don’t know their status. He however stated that they are creating database on Aids programme for teens and particularly the adolescents to understand the particular figure from the teens who’re infected.
“The programme will involve putting up of a modern youth friendly health facilities. This will ensure they can easily access medical services and employ a number of health workers to manage the facility,” said the director.
Mwangi added, “We want to ensure that in the future there will be no mother to child HIV transmission and no child or adolescent dies due to HIV related complications.”
“Most of the HIV infections among the teenagers come as a result of mother to child transmissions while giving birth, pregnant mothers need to be told to ensure that they give birth in health facilities,” said the CEC.
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