HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Adolescents in South Africa :: HIV in Africa

Policy Brief human immunodeficiency virus/ help Prevention Among Adolescents in South AfricaHetero familiar intercourse among adolescents is the primary method of HIV befoulion in South Africa, with the majority of new infections occurring in the 21 25 year age group. An HIV- ginmill campaign promoting abstinence among young people would attend 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 head start place. Abstinence is not a viable method of HIV/AIDS prevention within the social, political, and economic context of South Africa.A to a greater extent 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 rearing 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 fetching a direct approach to HIV prevention, we should follow their example and exhibit the epidemic on the terms on which it is striking our populace by the unfettered, unprotected, and unhealthy sexual practices of our youth.Education is of primary importance in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is the most efficient preventative weapon in our arsenal. most(prenominal) young adults are at risk because they lack the most primary information on HIV and how to protect themselves from infection. There is confusion somewhat methods of transmission, cultural myths about the diseases curability, and, perhaps most damaging, reorient perceptions of self-risk. In addition, there are high levels of denial of HIVs prevalence in communities that have ye t to experience AIDS-related deaths. This results in adolescents convince themselves that they can filter out dangerous partners through appearance or reputation. AIDS is externalized as a disease striking only at the margins of society, and is not seen as sufficient enough of a threat to castrate ones risky sexual behavior.HIV/AIDS education should be a community-wide occurrence. Scare tactics should be used to disembowel HIV in a realistic manner - as a disease incorporated into every community that can and will infect you if you do not take the correct precautions. Limiting education to the schools keeps HIV/AIDS as a medicinal, sterile topic, and disassociates parents who are unwilling or unable to talk to their children about issues of a sexual nature.