Youths help to combat HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea
Source: Save the Children - Australia
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Youths help to combat HIV/AIDS
An estimated number of more than 11,000 children are infected with
HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea.Save the Children in Papua New Guinea (SCiPNG) is determined to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youth, with an estimation of more than 100,000 people
infected with the deadly disease.The Youth Outreach Project (YOP) is one of the projects currently run by SCiPNG’s offices in Goroka, Kainantu and Megabo in Eastern Highlands Province,
and in Madang.According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ‘Children and HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea’ 2005 report, young people’s knowledge of HIV/AIDS
and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) still remains poor.Increase in teenage pregnancy is a serious indicator that many young people are having unprotected sex, and this poses a great
threat to their health and well being with the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs.Therefore, staff and volunteers of YOP have taken on the challenging responsibility of HIV/ AIDS and STI
awareness, and educating and encouraging safer sexual behaviours among young people between 15 to 25 years old.YOP also strives to create awareness among youth about reproductive health.
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