HIV AMONG THE YOUTHS

HIV/AIDS AMONG THE YOUTHS
Young people are the disproportionately affected by HIV globally. whereby 25% of infected person are between age [10-24] for these is where the youths are more sexually active and they live their lifes without care on what being in relationship is all about but instead they take it as away of having fun.
The young people are vulnerable to HIV/AIDs at two stages of their lives ,early in the first decade of life when HIV can be transmitted from mother to child also known as vertical transmission and the second decade of life is when adolescence brings new vulnerability to HIV .low HIV and sexual health knowledge is the key barrier to reducing HIV infection among the young people.
This disease is the leading cause of death among the youths due to ignorance to go for the HIV test due to fear. something which they should be doing atleast to know their status and  for them to start using antiretroviral drugs incase found to be positive to help prevent the growth of the virus in their bodies.
Most of the youths are infected through the following ways;
A]Engaging to unprotected sex
=vulnerability to HIV transmission via unprotected sex where the youth engage in unprotected sexual behaviour with their partners and since the disease is caused when infected  blood or body fluids such as semen or vaginal fluids enter the body which mostly happen during sexual intercourse.
B]Early sexual Debut
=The age of sexual debut is rising showing a positive change in attitudes among young people with regards to sexual behaviour since it is common for them to be sexually active.
C]sex with older partners
=intergenerational sex which is[ sex between young people and older people]older partners are more likely to be living with HIV therefore  risking exposure to young people by engaging in unprotected sex with them.for they are motivated by the implicit assumption that sex will be exchanged for money or other maternal support.
D]Not using condoms
=condom use among the youth remains relatively low since they preffer sex with no protection,for the youths nowadays prefer  to rather take postinor 2 basically known as the P2 to prevent them from pregnancy without knowing that P2 wont prevent yhem from HIV and other sexually transmitted disease.
They can prevent it by:
A] Biomedical intervention
=By use of antiretroviral  therapy[ARVs] for prevention, voluntary medical, male circumcision and vaginal  microbicides.
B] Behavioral intervention.
=used to aim reducing risk for HIV by delaying sexual debut, promoting condom use and reducing concurrency and also to try abstainance.
WHO programs should also focus on prevention and early intervention in other health risk behaviours that may lead to HIV infections such as injecting substances. Young  people need HIV testing services that are accessible and appropriate, young people living with HIV need treatment care, support and positive prevention services.all HIV services for young people should involve young people living with HIV in their planning and provision.
By QUINTER AGAYA.