TAC fears about HIV infection in youngsters
AS SOUTH Africa observes World Aids Day today, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said it was concerned about the high number of young people, including those in high school, getting infected with HIV/AIDS.
TAC chairperson Sibongile Tshabalala told Daily News’s sister publication, The Star, that more than 60 000 young people were getting exposed to HIV/AIDS annually in South Africa.
Most concerning was the high number of high school pupils getting infected.
World Aids Day is observed annually around the world to show solidarity with the millions of people living with HIV and to raise awareness about the pandemic’s current status in order to encourage HIV prevention, treatment, and care.
Tshabalala said TAC had learned that people as young as 16 were being exposed to the disease but were afraid of getting treatment in health care centres because of stigmatisation.
“They are afraid because nurses at the clinic would have comments for them and would ask them why they got infected at such a young age. The TAC is calling for a youth-friendly strategy for dealing with HIV.”
Tshabalala proposed that pre-exposure phrophylaxis (PREP) be made available to young people to reduce the number of infected.
“PREP is there, but there is not enough information given about it to stop the disease from spreading.”
She said some of the reasons for high infection rates among young people were transactional sex, risky
behaviour, and ignorance.
“Older men are sleeping with younger women; it’s a mess, and we need young people to come forward and tell us what they think the response to this problem is. Poverty also plays a role,” Tshabalala said.
She said the experience was worse for young gay men who were afraid of being tested for HIV and receiving treatment.
“They are victimised from the gate when they walk in by the security and then by the nurses because people still think HIV is a gay disease. And most of the guys in this community prefer testing in private and taking medication in private,” Tshabalala said.
She said while infection rates have gone down in South Africa, HIV/AIDS is still a big concern.
“We are now facing a situation where funders no longer want to fund the response to HIV.
“The disease is still there; it’s not over. We need to refocus and redirect the response,” Tshabalala said.