The HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC continues to rage throughout the globe with an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS at the
end of 2005. More
than 10 million of them are young people between the
ages of 15 to 24; of which Sub-Saharan Africa has almost 2/3 of all young
people living with HIV/AIDS (roughly 6.2 million). The impact of
HIV/AIDS on young people and adults pushes it beyond just a disease to
a development challenge that affects the social, political and economic
fabric of society. Yet, the inherent social, political and economic problems
in each country further exacerbate the spread of HIV/AIDS. Therefore,
HIV/AIDS assumes a duality whereby it is not only a biological disease,
but also a socio-political-economic disease*.
• The LIFE CHOICES PROGRAM is a five-year
Track 1 “Abstinence and Be Faithful for Youth” (AB) program started in 2005 and funded by
the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) through the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID). |
To curb the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in
youth in Sub-Saharan Africa, Salesian Missions
has been implementing the Life Choices Program
in three countries: Kenya, South Africa, and
Tanzania. Life Choices targets youth ages 10 to
19 with core messages of “Abstinence and Be
Faithful for Youth” (AB) to prevent HIV infection.
The program also benefits the youth by employing
a multi-pronged approach to HIV/AIDS prevention.
This approach not only offers youth health education
on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), but also offers life skills training,
parental and community support, counseling, and
job placement. To reach the youth, the program
utilizes a “Trainer of Trainers” (TOT) approach to
impart the Abstinence and Be Faithful (AB) messages
not only to the youth but also to those in their
broader social environment to create a context
that supports the practice of AB behaviors. A core
group of trainers in each country is responsible
for introducing the AB Life Choices Curriculum
directly to youth and their parents or caregivers.
In addition, trainers are responsible for training peer
educators and community leaders to disseminate
AB strategies to the broader community. Peer
educators are selected from the entire spectrum of youth social niches and groups to ensure that in school,
out-of-school, and high-risk groups of youth
(i.e. street children, orphans, and incarcerated
youth) are reached, regardless of social standing.
The program management also devotes many
resources to the development of its staff, which not
only ensures a good quality of program delivery, but
also
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augments the local in-country capacity in
HIV/AIDS prevention. Furthermore, the program
is actively involved in developing and disseminating
behavior change communication (BCC)
messages as well as increasing access to youth friendly
volunteer counseling and testing (VCT)
services in all three countries.
To date “Life Choices” has reached over 115,000
youth. At its end, the program will reach over
150,000 youth in all three countries. Since the
program is being implemented in public and
Salesian schools, “Life Choices” aims to have an
impact on youth beyond 2010. Therefore,
through the “Life Choices” Program, Salesian
Missions is committed to decreasing the burden
of HIV/AIDS on the youth it serves, enabling
them to reach their full potential.
Visit our website at: www.hivaidsprevention.org
NUMBER OF YOUTH AFFECTED BY HIV/AIDS:
• Africa: 6.2 million
• South and South East Asia: 1.8 million
• Central Asia and Easter Europe: 630 thousand
• Latin America: 610 thousand* |
| • The vision of LIFE CHOICES is to reach youth with
a powerful AB message early in their lives and to
support the maintenance of positive behavior
changes during adolescence and adulthood through
the involvement of community mentors, informed
parents, and organized peer groups. |
* WHO Technical Report
Series - 938
|
