GOAL
The ultimate goal of the advocacy plan is to reduce HIV prevalence among the newly born children through provision of information on sexual and reproductive health amongst youth especially Young People Living with HIV and AIDS.
OBJECTIVES
- Prevent unintended pregnancies by encouraging the dual approach that is the use of condoms and contraception by HIV young positive women.
- Encourage participation of HIV positive male to provide greater opportunity for communication about condom use between partners and assist young women in adopting contraception.
- Integrate Anti-Retroviral Treatment and sexual and reproductive health amongst HIV positive young people to reduce mother to child transimmission and HIV transmission in general.
- Strengthening sexual and reproductive health education in schools targeting adholescent girls and boys as an approach to reduce risk behaviour.
JUSTIFICATION
With growing numbers of people aware of their status and on anti-retroviral treatment (ART), it is critical to respond to their sexual and reproductive needs and rights, including HIV prevention needs. HIV positive young women, and men, need to be able to make informed sexual and reproductive health choices and have access to sexual and reproductive services such as family planning advice. HIV prevention programs aimed at young people living with HIV are a critical component of HIV prevention efforts. HIV and sexual and reproductive health are closely linked hence imperative to integrate the two aspects. A vacuum exists in the access to both information and services on sexual and reproductive health amongst young people living with HIV in the rural areas of Zimbabwe despite its positive contribution to the fight against the further spread of the pandemic.
There is no single approach which can hollistically fight HIV hence also the need to target adholescent people within schools to reduce new infections. Encouraging safer sexual behaviours in adolescents within schools is an important aspect in reducing risk behaviour. Education of sexual and reproductive health in secondary schools is an important aspect as it recognises the sexual development of these young people which, if not properly guided put them at risk to HIV infection.
NB-On young people living with HIV the project will utilise those whom are in the Support Groups of PLWHA of Rozaria Memorial Trust(the organisation i work for). Also RMT has in-school activities on HIV and AIDS so the avocate plan will utilise that existing platform but at the same time complimenting the work in another useful dimension. 'If you want to walk fast, walk alone but if you want to walk further, walk together'. Indeed by joining hands with Rozaria Memorial Trust we can walk further in the fight against HIV
