Over 60 youth trained in HIV/AIDS prevention

By Violet Nabatanzi

Over 60 youths have been trained to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS and Child rights in the communities.
 
The one-year project sponsored by American government through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PEPFAR/Emergency Plan) , aims at reducing HIV/AIDS scourge amongst the youth.
 
The executive director, Mengo Youth Development Link, Pascal Lutaya, said the project is aimed at supporting and empowering young people to guard against HIV/AIDS.
 
“The peer educators, who have been trained will  train fellow peers in parts of Kampala and Wakiso. We focused on HIV/AIDS because it is rampant in the community,”   Lutaya said.
 
The  HIV/AIDS prevalence rate stands at 7.3% from 6.4%.
 
  Kampala  Capital City Authority (KCCA) Youth Councillor, Kasim Kyazze, said according to the recent survey conducted by  by KCCA, a big number of girls in hostels had acquired HIV/AIDS compared to those else where.
 
Kyazze however, urged the youths to always use condoms if they can not abstain.
 
Recently the minister of health Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda said that the highest HIV infections are occurring among the young people.

He attributed the increased rate of HIV amongst youths to unprotected sex, since many of the young people are not abstaining and as a result they are victims of the infections.