Where to Get Tested for HIV

The United Nations Children’s Fund has in its report, titled: “Statistical Update on Children, Adolescents and AIDS”, described AIDS as the number one cause of death among teenagers in Africa. She didn’t know what she should do.

“Part of my own understanding of HIV and AIDS issues has been through the prism of experiencing the death of two of my younger brothers – David and Stephen – who died of AIDS within six weeks of each other in the late 1980s”, Mr Mackay said.

The Department of Health (DOH) has listed over 650 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the month of October, a 21-percent jump from figures culled during the same period in 2014.

The UN estimates that “already 15.8 million people are accessing life-saving HIV treatment; new HIV infections have been reduced by 35% since 2000 and AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 42% since its peak in 2004”.

About 50% HIV-positive teens of the world between 15 and 19 years old are from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria Tanzania, Mozambique and India, as per the report. These should include comprehensive sexuality education in schools and through social media, information on where to get an HIV test, condom use, and HIV testing and treatment services designed for adolescents.

Teenagers are also prone to die from HIV-related consequences, because they are less likely to seek treatment, researchers also discovered.

But a doctor said the Indian program faces problems that government officials aren’t ready to accept so far.

Somse praised scientific advances in treating the virus, but he says the social aspects of the epidemic have not been given enough attention.

This year’s World Aids Day is themed “Rise. Act”.

UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Leila Pakkala said while progress had been made, a lot more efforts are needed to increase the percentage of HIV positive people in Africa who are getting treatment, now at 41 percent.

It is vital for adolescents to know their HIV status, and get treatment if they need it, but in many countries they are turned away from HIV testing centres.

Mani encouraged her peers to stop buying into the stigma around AIDS. “What was my fault in this?”

In addition to the increasing number of tests, the number of people on anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment at City Health facilities continues to grow – from just under 17 000 in 2010 to almost 47 000 in June 2015, with almost one-third receiving their medication through the ARV club system. In sub-Saharan Africa‚ the region with the highest prevalence‚ girls are vastly more affected‚ accounting for 7 in 10 new infections among 15-19 year olds.