Born Positive: Responding to the sexual health needs of a new generation of young adolescents living
28 February 2011
MEDIA ADVISORY: Improved access to antiretroviral treatment means that growing numbers of children who acquired the virus from their mothers are entering adolescence and approaching sexual maturity. Addressing their sexual and reproductive health needs is critical to stemming the spread of HIV.
The recent surge in teenage pregnancies suggests that we are failing to reach South African youth with messages around safe sex - a reality made all the more disconcerting by our high HIV prevalence.
But any successful attempt at encouraging teenagers to make responsible sexual and reproductive health choices needs to include the emerging new generation of young teens who have acquired HIV perinatally from their mothers.
“There are considerable benefits to laying the foundations for health and well-being before young people become sexually active. Given the right tools, these soon-to-be young adults will be vital to helping us foster a healthier, stigma-free society,” explains Helen Struthers, Chief Operating Officer at the Anova Health Institute.
Anova are developing a training manual that will equip healthcare providers, including nurses, counsellors, social workers, psychologists and community workers, with the knowledge and skills required to support young HIV positive adolescents in making responsible sexual and reproductive choices.
“We worked closely with HIV positive young teens in both rural and urban settings to ensure that the manual truly addresses their needs. We realized early on that giving them a sense of ownership of the guide would be critical to making it a meaningful and sustainable resource,” says researcher and clinical psychologist Dr Marnie Vujovic.
Whilst the guide is comprehensive, it is age-appropriate. “Interacting with the young teens we soon realized that because they are just entering puberty, sex and sexuality is still a very new and often bewildering concept to them. It was important that the guide respected this,” says HIV/AIDS consultant Saranne Meyersfeld who incorporated and transformed the data into experiential tools for the guide
The resource will soon be available for download from Anova’s website. It forms part of an ongoing initiative that explores factors influencing the sexual and reproductive health needs and decision making of very young HIV positive adolescents.