REVERSE THE SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS:TARGITING YOUTH.
Uganda has braked a severe and devastating epidemic of HIV infection and for almost a quarter of the century’s epidemic started on the shower of lake Victoria in Rakai district, the initial epic center of illness. There after ,HIV infection spread quickly ,initially in major urban areas and along highway
By 1986,HIV had reached all districts in the country ,resulting into what is classified as a generalized epidemic. HIV infection continued to spread relatively throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s and soon gave rise to aware of AIDS as more HIV infected people succumbed to opportunities infections arising from their suppressed immune systems.
Uganda has a much large proportion of its population in the younger age groups than in the elder age groups There are slightly more mal than female under age 20 and slightly lower percentages of male than female at ages of 20-39,53%of the total population of consisting children under age 15, 38% represents individuals aged 15-49 age, while 50 years and above accounts for only 96%. The age distribution reflects Ugandans high fertility that produces a large base of youth
The prevalence of HIV for the 15-24 age group is 36% , prevalence of women between 15-24 is 4% while men is 1% .Urban youth are more likely to be infection than those in rural areas to the following ratio 5% to 3%(table 8:10)Kampala has the highest prevalence ratio of 11.8% compared to other part of Uganda(Table 8.4) source HIV/AIDS Sero- behavioral survey.
Why are youth so vulnerable?
Through to Uganda the fact of HIV/AIDS is becoming younger and famine, vulnerable groups are much more prone to HIV infection due to globalization, poverty ,gender discrimination and lack of access to information and health services
· Globalization and poverty increase population migration within Uganda in search of better economic opportunities. The majority of migrant workers are younger people. isolated from main stream society and with HIV knowledge and few life skills, they are at risk of acquiring HIV as a result of unprotected casual sex.25.9% have used condom (source HIV/AIDS Sero- behavioral survey 2004-2005 ).
· Biological and social factors render girl and woman more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS .Research show that during unprotected sex , the risk of HIV infection is two to for times higher for woman than men.
· Entrenched gender biases often deprive girls of education ,as a result , girls and women have much less knowledge of HIV/AIDS than men. Also ,early marriage and gender violence increase the risk of HIV infection among them.
· Adolescents and young people are poorly informed about sexual, reproductive health and the consequence of unprotected sex.In the HIV sero-behavioural 2004-05 shows that 30% of young women 35% of young men have knowledge of HIV/AIDS and ways it can be transmitted.
· Access to essential health service is lacking in the country.
How to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Focusing HIV prevention on youth offer the greatest hope for containing the spread of HIV in Uganda. To be effective ,precaution effort should go hand in hand with treatment and care.
Enhancing Knowledge, skill and preventive services.
School are the best channel is for reaching the majority of teenagers and youth .merely incorporating information on HIV/AIDS in the curriculum, hemmer, is not sufficient. schools should be encouraged to promote a life-skills approach, which emphasis’s interactive teaching methods to encourage young people to face health risk and move responsible. such curricula has not yet been developed ,living the civil society organizations like youth watch to intervene.
There is on easy way to reach youth who are out of school, while work place HIV/AIDS education can be efficient way to reach some community based peer education would be more effective for targeting a large segment of youth .positive peer influence and the community approach engaging parents, teacher, health workers, village leaders and religious leaders can foster positive behavior among young people.
Life skills-based education in schools and community settings needs to be complemented by providing access to youth –friendly health services, including the availability of condoms, the prevision of voluntary and confidential HIV counseling and testing, and the treatment of sexually transmitted infections. youth friendly health services can b delivered through hospitals, clinics, community outreach services, schools, work place and youth centres.
Scaling up comprehensive services to those at risk.
In 2005 at the united nations general Assembly, governments reeled to move to wads providing universal access to HIV precaution ,treatment and care. To achieve this goal, it will necessary to expand these comprehensive services for the populations at risk .Countries that are targeting vulnerable group are containing the spread of HIV Uganda is not an exception.
Improving policy coherence.
Lack of policy coherence has been one of the major obstacles to scaling up HIV. precaution services for those most in need of them. To ensure the Effectiveness of HIV-prevention programmers, governments also need to reform legal and policy from ensures, including decriminalization of HIV related risk behavior. Where proactive and coherent policies do exist there is often gap between policies and implementation. Addressing this gap calls for wider engagement of ministries of health, social development and gender and other key actors that have not been part of the public health to respond to AIDS pandemic.
Closing the resource gap.
Comprehensive response to the AIDS pandemic in Uganda will require lots of money, most of it would come from bilateral donors, foundations and informational institutions.
To close the resource gap ,significantly increased international assistance would be needed particularly for the lower income and the least developed countries .Funding should be prioritized for programmers and services for vulnerable and marginalized groups, including youth most at risk.
Addressing rout causes of vulnerability.
Poverty a and gender discrimination are the root cases that endanger youth and other vulnerable groups with regard to the spread of HIV . Youth employment should be placed at the top of the nation agenda. Youth-oriented livelihood and income generation profits need to be developed to prevent young people from seeking survival in the sex industry eliminating gender discrimination that subjects young girls and women to health risks requires strong political will and the fill participation of the society in order to change culture and social norms as well as to do away with laws that perpetuate gender bias. It is crucial to build enabling environments for girls and women to fulfill their rights to sexual and reproductive health and to live a dignified life.
Way forward.
A lot needs to be done to reverse the spread of amongst youth ,youth –friendly services need to be developed to addresses the problem. They should be youth –led so that the target group relates to them easily as opposed to adult-led.” As the saying goes a problem shared is a problem half solved”.


by; Kateregga Dennis.
Executive director.
Youth Watch
Plot 580, Sekabaka Kintu Road, Lungujja, Rubaga
P.O.BOX 31001, Kampala
Tel: +256-772-882-019, +256-782-683-754
E-mail: watchyouth@yahoo.com
www.youthwatchuganda.com