PREVENTION OF HIV AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

PREVENTION OF HIV AMOUNG YOUNG POPLE

Introduction

Young people are disproportionately affected by HIV globally; 25% of infected persons are between 10-24 years. Those aged 15-24 comprise 35% of new infections, resulting in 900,000 new infections annually. The greatest burden of HIV among young people is in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, young women have almost eight times the HIV prevalence as same-age men and their annual HIV incidence is an estimated 8%.

Why are adolescents a unique population?

Adolescence has been described as ‘a period of momentous social, psychological, economic and biological transitions. It is a time when substantial brain development occurs including the capacity for complex, conceptual thinking. The combination of a heightened responsiveness to rewards coupled with immaturity in the behavioral control areas of the brain may lead to the risky decisions and emotional reactivity that characterize adolescence. The exploration and formation of identity is considered by many to be the primary developmental goal of adolescence. Socially, adolescents are searching for a sense of belonging from peers, who influence behavior. Adolescence is also marked by social transitions such as finishing school, finding employment, independent living, first sexual relationships, pregnancies, and marriage. These milestones occur during a period of decreased adult supervision when young people still have limited knowledge, self-confidence and life skills, which can lead to engagement in behaviors that heighten HIV risk.
Preventions

a)      Engaging parents, caregivers and guardians in the response

The influence, power and control that many adults have on the lives of young people means that engaging various stakeholders such as parents, health providers and community leaders is key to HIV prevention for young people.

b)     Engaging schools in the response

Schools have the potential to provide detailed education on HIV and AIDS and other youth issues. More progress needs to be made to ensure there is equality in access to schools by both girls and boys, and to prevent them from dropping out.

c)      Engaging young people in the response

Young people have the potential to be great peer educators, and to help in the design of HIV-related services and programmers’. Technology and social media are consistently being proved as effective ways to engage young people in sharing HIV knowledge.
The use of peer educators and social media have been combined by the youths programmers’,  platform for young people living with HIV to talk, find a mentor, become a mentor and advocate for the needs of young people.

d)     Transitions to adulthood

In early adulthood, programming should take into account that young adults will have less support from their families and communities as they transition to working and living independently.
Enabling adolescents to graduate from school with the skills and experience to participate in the workforce can significantly affect HIV outcomes. This is because unemployment or working in poorly paid jobs can lead to economic vulnerability, which may in turn motivate young people to engage in selling sex or embark in age-disparate, transactional relationships

Conclusions        

Despite the high risk of HIV transmission among young people, few rigorously designed prevention interventions with HIV endpoints have been evaluated. Many interventions focus on changing individual-level behaviors rather than addressing the larger contextual and structural landscape within which young people live. Further, few studies have explored the use of biomedical interventions among young people. While biomedical prevention offers considerable promise, further research is needed to determine the applicability, safety and efficacy of these approaches among youth. The factors affecting HIV risk are complex and will require a combination approach incorporating a supportive behavioral, structural and /or biomedical intervention. Developing a prevention menu where adolescents, depending on their phase of transition and sexual activity, may tailor their individual prevention package, would represent a major advance in preventing HIV among youth.

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