Africa-Press – Eswatini. A youth orientated technology based HIV prevention and intervention campaign targeting young people in SADC countries of Botswana, Lesotho and eSwatini has been launched.
Funded by SADC, the campaign will be implemented by Limkokwing University of Technology with the support of the national health promotion agencies of the three countries.
National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA), Director of Health Promotion, Mr Rapetse Mathumo, said Thursday that the SADC region remained the epicentre of the HIV epidemic hence the need to invest in strategies that could contribute to the reduction of the disease, especially among young people.
Mr Mathumo said globally, young people accounted for 38 per cent of new infections in 2017.
He said with SADC region being the most affected, there was need for countries to come up with reduction strategies.
“This can be achieved by targeting priority population that include young people as they contribute to higher infections in most of the HIV and AIDS response,” he said.
He said interventions to reduce new infections included developing and implementing technology based innovative HIV prevention interventions for young people.
Mr Mathumo said SADC heads of states established a regional HIV and AIDS special fund, where all members contributed by paying annual membership fees, adding that Botswana, eSwatini and Lesotho jointly applied to use technology to enhance HIV prevention and interventions among young people.
“The project aims to contribute to a reduction of new infections among young people aged 15-24 years,” he stated.
Botswana National Youth Council chairperson, Ms Moitshepi Matsheng, said the project would scale-up and use multi-media and technology-based prevention programmes targeting adolescents and young people.
She said it would also develop a technology-based training course on the use of appropriate technology in the delivery of messages and to collect relevant programme information for the HIV and AIDS response.
“It will further expand and complement existing HIV prevention programmes for young people aged 15-24 years and further promote coordination and cooperation between the three countries HIV prevention programmes,” she said.
Ms Matsheng said over the coming months, the project team would engage in a number of activities including conducting virtual and physical boot camps and training young people.
The team would also develop youth friendly website and applications, produce digital youth HIV magazine and conduct school visits to sensitise the in-school youth on the project and HIV and AIDS prevention.
Ms Matsheng said the project would empower the youth of the three countries to make the right choices and in the process contribute to a reduction in new HIV infections and increased knowledge on HIV/AIDS.
The project implementation started August 31 and will end to March 31, 2024.
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