AFRICAID ZVANDIRI TO HOST A TRACK AT THE REGIONAL CONFERENCE
HARARE-Africaid Zvandiri will be hosting a track on:” Exploring challenges and opportunities in providing prevention, ART and positive living services for adolescents and young people living with HIV to improve quality and productivity of life.” at the Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference which will be held in Harare (Harare International Conference Centre) from the 27th to the 30th of August 2015.
It is important to note that AIDS-related deaths in adolescents continue to increase as a result of poor linkage and retention in care, sub-optimal adherence and a lack of prioritization of adolescents in service delivery.
There is a critical need to hear the voices of young people living with HIV so that they themselves can shape the way services are delivered across the region.
In this track, adolescents and young people from organisations across the region will come together to share the successes and challenges from their respective countries and organisations, including the views of young key populations and young people living with HIV and disabilities.
Key issues will include positive health, dignity and prevention, access to ART and adherence, stigma and discrimination, retention challenges and sexual and reproductive health, drawing on experiences from different settings. Examples of different programme models and participatory approaches will be shared.
In this interactive session, they will discuss and make recommendations for the delivery of prevention, ART and positive living services in order to improve quality of life for their peers across the region.
The Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference on sexual and reproductive health (SARSYC) will be held under the theme, YOUTH SRHR AND THE POST2015 AGENDA: A TIME TO INVEST IN YOUNG PEOPLE TO HARNESS THE DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The theme of the conference is founded primarily on the proposed incoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the post 2015 development agenda and informed by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The year 2015 marks the end of the lifeline of the MDGs and marks the beginning of the SDGs; hence the conference will focus on calling the young people from Southern Africa to take the lead in the post 2015 SRHR Development Agenda through spearheading the attainment of SDGs that uphold young people’s SRHR.