By Zenak Matekenya

Dedza, September 17, Mana: Chief Youth Officer in the Ministry of Youth Doreen Mbendela has commended UNFPA for tailor-made programs targeting young people living with HIV and AIDS.

She made the remarks on Monday in Dedza during the opening of a week-long Trainer of Trainers and Piloting Workshop on the iCAN package for young people living with HIV funded by UFPA.

Mbendela said the ministry struggles to support young people living with HIV and Aids as most funders bring projects that target youth in general.

“National youth policy advocates for healthy living for young people and our key priority target group is young people living with HIV and Aids. However, we struggle to support their specific needs adequately because the rest of the projects target the youth in general,” she said.

She said the Safeguard Young People program will promote engagement with young people living with HIV and Aids to support them to overcome stigma and to access health care and other human rights for them to live like anyone else.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education Specialist and Disability Focal Point for UNFP East and Southern Region Maria Bakaroudis said sexuality education for young people serves lives.

“It gives the correct information about their health and well-being so that they can prevent issues like teenage pregnancies, STIs, gender-based violence.

“They learn skills that help them communicate effectively, negotiate and make good decisions for their lives,” she said.

She said young people living with HIV have the same hopes and dreams of having their own family, and career but sometimes lack information on how to handle issues of disclosing their status, how to handle stigma and discrimination and leave positively by hearing about their treatment.

UNFPA Deputy Representative, Officer In-charge Dr. Ezizgeldi Hellenov said the training will revise National Adaptation and Piloting of the revised iCAN package.

He said Malawi’s statistics of 2.09 percent of adolescent girls and young women aged between 15 - 24 living with HIV is alarming adding 3, 300 adolescents contracted HIV last year representing 22 percent of all new infections.

He said UNFPA is committed to delivering comprehensive sexuality education to both schools and out-of-school settings anchored by programs that include The Global Programme on CSE for Out-of-school Youth.

Safeguard Young People is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.