Hiv/Aids Prevention Among Adolescents in South Africa
Policy Brief: HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Adolescents in South Africa
Heterosexual intercourse among adolescents is the primary method of HIV transmission in South Africa, with the majority of new infections occurring in the 21 25 year age group. An HIV-prevention campaign promoting abstinence among young people would seem to be an effective barrier to further infections. However, a policy promoting abstinence approaches the problem only superficially, and would not take into account all of the factors driving adolescents to engage in sexual relations, specifically unprotected sex, in the first place. Abstinence is not a viable method of HIV/AIDS prevention within the social, political, and economic context of South Africa.
A more appropriate strategy would be a comprehensive program aimed at the de-stigmatization and prevention of the disease. A campaign promoting the use of condoms in all sexual encounters, backed by education and the expansion of HIV care and prevention services, and accompanied by policies addressing destructive economic conditions and gender inequality would be the most effective strategy. Countries such as Uganda and Senegal have had success when taking a direct approach to HIV prevention, we should follow their example and confront the epidemic on the terms on which it is striking our populace through the unfettered, unprotected, and unhealthy sexual practices of our youth.
Education is of primary importance in the war against HIV/AIDS. It is the most efficient preventative weapon in our arsenal. Most young adults are at risk because they lack the most basic information on HIV and how to protect themselves from infection. There is confusion about methods of transmission, cultural myths about the disease's curability, and, perhaps most damaging, skewed perceptions of self-risk. In addition, there are high levels of denial of HIV's prevalence in communities that have yet to experience AIDS-related deaths. This results in
Heterosexual intercourse among adolescents is the primary method of HIV transmission in South Africa, with the majority of new infections occurring in the 21 25 year age group. An HIV-prevention campaign promoting abstinence among young people would seem to be an effective barrier to further infections. However, a policy promoting abstinence approaches the problem only superficially, and would not take into account all of the factors driving adolescents to engage in sexual relations, specifically unprotected sex, in the first place. Abstinence is not a viable method of HIV/AIDS prevention within the social, political, and economic context of South Africa.
A more appropriate strategy would be a comprehensive program aimed at the de-stigmatization and prevention of the disease. A campaign promoting the use of condoms in all sexual encounters, backed by education and the expansion of HIV care and prevention services, and accompanied by policies addressing destructive economic conditions and gender inequality would be the most effective strategy. Countries such as Uganda and Senegal have had success when taking a direct approach to HIV prevention, we should follow their example and confront the epidemic on the terms on which it is striking our populace through the unfettered, unprotected, and unhealthy sexual practices of our youth.
Education is of primary importance in the war against HIV/AIDS. It is the most efficient preventative weapon in our arsenal. Most young adults are at risk because they lack the most basic information on HIV and how to protect themselves from infection. There is confusion about methods of transmission, cultural myths about the disease's curability, and, perhaps most damaging, skewed perceptions of self-risk. In addition, there are high levels of denial of HIV's prevalence in communities that have yet to experience AIDS-related deaths. This results in