Malawi launches youth sexual health and HIV action plan

from the Daily Times

BY DEBORAH NYANGULU-CHIPOFYA

Government through Ministry of Youth Development and Sports last Thursday launched a National Plan of Action for Young People in Lilongwe.

The document is aimed at improving sexual and reproductive health and prevention of new HIV infections among people aged between 10 and 24.

The 67 page action plan has six main strategic objectives, which it would address in order to meet its main goal.

The objectives include improving policy environment and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV programmes for young people, enhancing skills for adoption of safer sexual practices among young people and increasing utilisation of youth friendly sexual and reproductive health services.

The last three objectives include increasing accessibility of integrated SRH and livelihood skills development tertiary institutions, strengthening programming and coordination for SRH and HIV prevention and strengthening institutional capacity to sustain evidence based SRH and HIV prevention programmes.

Minister of Youth Development and Sports Simon Vuwa Kaunda said the action plan should be taken seriously because if things are left as they are now among the youth, Malawi would not achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Kaunda said the biggest problem in the fight against HIV so far has been lack of coordination and harmonisation among groups and programmes aimed at fighting the scourge.

“Each one of us now is working as an island. If this goes on, we’ll not achieve what we want and young people will continue suffering while millions of dollars are being spent on HIV/Aids programmes,” said Kaunda.

Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe, who attended the launch upon invitation from Vuwa Kaunda said things have changed nowadays and we do not only have to worry about the youth’s health and growth but we have to look at ways of reducing their deaths.

Gondwe bemoaned that Malawi has lost many young professionals like ministers and doctors who can hardly be replaced.

“I am trying to stress how a gathering of this kind is important because it will help prevent the country from losing its flowers and jewels of the future,” said Gondwe.

Gondwe also pledged that his ministry would do everything possible that funds are readily available for the smooth implementation of the action plan.

According to the action plan report, Malawi is one of only 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa which has an adult HIV prevalence rate of over 10 percent, with 12 percent of the population of the 15-49 age group living with HIV/Aids.