posted on FEBRUARY 18, 2015 by RACHEL NDAYA
In the DRC, the problems of HIV transmission are due in part to a lack of emotional maturity in youth, which sometimes exposes them to unplanned relations. A simple curiosity and the desire to imitate the behavior of others are factors that can determine the sexual behaviors of young people.
The most worrying aspect is that, very often, youth have their first sexual experiences, without knowing about the existence of STIs, including HIV/AIDS. Before children become adolescents, they should be informed of the risks associated with active sexual behaviors. As it is a major risk, children should be aware of HIV/AIDS and should know how to protect themselves from it.
Screening is the first step toward prevention, because knowing one’s HIV status obliges that person to practice responsible behaviors. The importance of screening is little known in many communities. Those who do know how important it is to get tested are often reluctant to do so. The impacts of discrimination and stigmatization loom large, which, combined with the lack of discretion and anonymity at health care centers, discourages testing.
We took advantage of World AIDS Day as an opportunity to educate many young people in Bas Congo on the adoption of responsible behaviors, beginning with voluntary testing and using condoms correctly and consistently. To circumnavigate the reluctance of adolescents and young people to get tested at health centers, our strategy was to bring this service to their usual leisure locations. Young people were delighted. It was the first time that such an activity took place on the beach in Muanda on the Atlantic coast.
In concrete terms, the day allowed us, through our Outreach Campaign for an AIDS-Free Generation, to raise awareness among youths about the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) and about family planning. In observance of the day, we organized voluntary testing and condom distribution for youth.
More than 200 adolescents tested in 2 days
Taking advantage of local customs – young people flock to the beach on the weekends – we informed the youth about the activities just before the weekend, by going door to door in the neighborhoods surrounding the beach. Thanks to this, more than 500 people went to the beach over the weekend.
Adolescents and youths expressed the wish to see new community centers for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) develop in nearby neighborhoods, rather than being referred to health centers. In the health centers, they are afraid that medical personnel will judge them or that their privacy will not be respected.
The voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) center was installed directly on the beach, which enabled the Network of Congolese Youth Associations against AIDS (Réseau des Associations Congolaises des Jeunes contre le Sida – RACOJ/SIDA) to test more than 200 adolescents and youths in 2 days. Three youths tested positive, one of whom came from Cabinda in Angola. All three were new cases.
Many lessons were learned:
Young people constitute a particular target with specific problems,
Young people express themselves freely among each other, but they are shy and/or contained in front of their parents or other adults,
They readily use those service available within their own environments.
We still have many challenges to overcome:
Convey information to all young people;
Reduce the burdens of discrimination and stigmatization caused by HIV and AIDS;
Emphasize prevention among future progenitors, who are adolescents and youth;
Emphasize the strategy of using mobile voluntary counseling and testing centers in recreational environments to attract adolescents and youths;
Install VCT centers in the center of those locations frequented by youths to maximize their use;
Develop awareness raising messages specifically designed for adolescents and youths;
Provide youth with those services requested by their peers.
World AIDS Day is held on December 1st each year. On this day, the whole world pauses, and through those actors engaged in the fight against the virus, focuses on the evolution of the disease and educates communities. Educating young people of childbearing age on the risk of infection is a guarantee that future newborns will be part of an AIDS-free generation.
We, members of the Network of Congolese Youth Associations Against AIDS (RACOJ in French), fight HIV/AIDS among youth and adolescents and encourage treatment for new cases. We conducted an Outreach Campaign for an AIDS-Free Generation in 12 health zones across the DRC in November and December 2014, with support from UNICEF.