25 HIV prevention officers attend workshop

SITEKI – At least 25 HIV Prevention Officers under the Lubombo Region attended an HIV prevention officers training workshop.

It was facilitated by the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA) together with the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT).

The one-day workshop was held at the Lubombo Regional Administration (RA) Offices conference room.

Ndumiso Dlamini, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) LUCT Project Officer, unpacked the workshop’s presentation to the officers. Dlamini said the workshop’s main objective was to ensure that information and communication technology (ICT) spectrum that would guarantee that HIV prevention officers were capacitated on the latest aspects of information dissemination using the digital platforms were available.

Empowering

He said the workshop was a technology-based HIV presentation, focusing on empowering the youth with information about HIV/AIDS and how best they could access help and assistance through using digital portal platforms.

The presenter said LUCT, in partnership with NERCHA, had created a podcast for the youth accessible through YouTube where discussions and deliberations on issues of HIV/ AIDS focusing on youth were discussed. Adding, Dlamini said they also had online channels like a mobile app, website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Furthermore, he also shared that there would be a digital youth HIV/AIDS magazine to be issued quarterly that would also play a pivotal role in information dissemination to the youth.“We have also formulated linkages that will assist on how one can access information about HIV/AIDS.

“We are also working collaboratively with organisations like Bantwana at community level.

“We are optimistic that as HIV prevention officers, you will be able to work hand-inhand with the youth in communities to achieve the objective of ensuring that they easily access information about the pandemic scourge,” he said.