For young people, fear of judgement can stand in the way of getting accurate information about HIV and accessing the services they need. In Jinja AFFCAD is working with community leaders to help change this.
In September, we scaled up our Empower Communities Against HIV Stigma project with an inception meeting that brought together 39 community leaders from Masese, Walukuba and Bugembe, including 20 women and 19 men. The participants included district health and education officers, community development officers, Local Council I (LC1) leaders, community health workers and councillors, who welcomed the initiative and pledged their support.
The project aims to reduce HIV-related stigma and improve Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) education for young people in Jinja. It will reach 5,000 young people: 2,500 in-school youth aged 15–18 and 2,500 out-of-school youth aged 18–30, equipping them with information and improving their access to HIV prevention and treatment services.
The next step is to conduct baseline research in schools and communities to understand existing challenges and guide the project’s interventions. This will be followed by training for 100 teachers and 100 community leaders to strengthen their capacity to address HIV-related stigma, improve SRHR awareness and create safer, more supportive spaces where young people can access information and services with confidence.
