Volunteer in Empowering the Children and Youth of Uganda

Enabling Young People Develop  


 

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Uganda’s Children and Youths amidst Poverty and HIV/AIDS. Numbering 1.7 billion, youths are the largest generation ever to enter the transition to adulthood. 30% of the populations of developing Countries are youths. They present a set of urgent economic, social and political challenges that are crucial to long term progress and stability. The attitudes, values and skills acquired by this generation of young people – and the choices they make will influence the course of the current events and shape our future as a Nation and continent in fundamental ways. The children and youths given a chance, can play a key role in promoting democracy, increasing incomes, helping communities develop and slowing the AIDS epidemic. When young people lack skills, support and opportunities to become productive citizens, their potential to contribute to society is undermined. Committing to making the skills training for children and youths more relevant to their daily lives and equipping them to earn a livelihood will indeed address these imbalances. HIV/AIDS is now than ever before a major threat to the children and youths of Sub Saharan Africa. About half of all new infections occur among the 15-24 years old. Poverty including the impact of AIDS on family incomes, forces many children and young people out of the protective environments of home and school which increases their risk of exploitation through child labor, rape, defilement and unsafe sexual behavior. These children and youth usually fail to recognize their personal exposure to risks because of lack of knowledge and understanding of HIV. There is increasing need to support skills-based HIV education to provide young people with a basic understanding of HIV, help them personalize risk and develop the self-esteem, confidence, communication and decision-making skills they need to make positive life choices. In many countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, sexual activity begins early, before marriage. Surveys show that on average, slightly more than 40% of women in Sub-Saharan Africa have had premarital sex before age 20. Among young men, sex before marriage is even more common. A significant number of young people have their first sexual experience before age 15. Abstinence until marriage campaigns are a particularly important resource for young people because nearly half of all new infections occur in the 15 to 24 year old age group. Delaying sexual debut by even a year can significantly impact on an adolescent’s health and well-being and on the progress of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Interactive peer education programs with theatrical, sports and musical events will help mobilize communities in support of healthy behaviors. Peer education builds on existing youth oriented knowledge to provide a safe and comfortable environment for adolescents to explore sensitive issues about their health and development. The role of parents, churches, schools and other local partners is very crucial in this campaign. This will provide the children and the young people with a forum to discuss HIV and with adult support, avoid risky behaviors. While HIV prevention is paramount in working with the children and young people, these programs must include the continuum of HIV services including care and treatment. Children and young people that are HIV positive need an array of services including Psycho-social support, Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission– PMTCT, Palliative care, and Anti-retroviral therapy-ARVs. Support also needs to be extended to the at-risk groups and the sexuality active young people including education on Correct and Consistent Condom use, treatment for Sexually Transmitted Infections-STIs and HIV testing which is important for these young people to know their status and adopt safe behaviors. There is an ever increasing need to expand children and youth programs across health, education, skills-training and economic empowerment to advance healthier lifestyles, equitable economic growth and a stronger community. Sustainably, inverting in the children and young people of Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa at large with create hope for a better future for generations to come. What are believe about children and young people as functional areas that contribute to their holistic development. (A)– Safe places with structured activities in which to learn and grow (B)–Caring adults in their lives, as parents, mentors, tutors, coaches (C)–A healthy start and healthy future (D)–An effective education that equips them with marketable skills (E)–An opportunity to give back to their communities through their own service HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS is having devastating impact on the worlds youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Since researchers first identified HIV/AIDS 20 years ago, more than 21.8 million people around the world have died (by the end of 2001) from the the disease. An estimated 42 million people are living with HIV today, including almost 3 million children under age 15. HIV Infects an additional 16,000 people every day, in 2003 alone it is estimated 5 Million people were infected with virus globally The HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa has already orphaned a generation of children and now seems set to orphan generations more. It is estimated that nearly three quarters of the worlds people living with HIV/AIDS live in Sub-Saharan Africa. By the end of 2002, over 29 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV/AIDS, of those, 10 million were young people (aged 15-24) and almost 3 million were children under 15. Global Facts and figures about HIV/AIDS Global estimates end - 2003 both Children and Adults · People living with HIV/AIDS...................................... 42 Million · New HIV infections.......................... 5.0 Million · Deaths due to HIV/AIDS in 2003.............. 3.1 Million · Cumulative number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS until end of 2001......................21.8 Million Sub-Saharan Africa · By the end of 2002, over 29 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV/AIDS, 10 million were young people between 15-25, 3 million children under 15. · In 2002 alone, about 2 million adults died of HIV/AIDS. · More than 11 million Children under the age of 15 in Sub-Saharan Africa have have lost atlist one parent to HIV/AIDS, 34 million Children have been orphaned over all. · 8 % of all the world's Children Orphaned by HIV/AIDS reside in Sub-Saharan Africa · The percentage of the region's Orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS increased from 3.5% in 1990 to 32% in 2001 Future Global HIV/AIDS Projections · Current projections suggest that, by 2006, an additional 45 million people · By 2010, HIV/AIDS will have robbed an estimated 20 million children under the age of 15 of one or both parents