By Education News Reporter
The National AIDS Control Council (NACC) has urged teachers in basic learning institutions to offer psychological, counseling, education and linkage support in addressing issues facing most vulnerable children and adolescents and mature minors.
According to NACC, the state corporation tasked with the mandate of HIV response in Kenya, the psychological support role of teachers entails carrying assessment on the issues, encouraging the children to join Health clubs and carrying out counseling services which include debriefing and Link to other health professionals and social services.
The education support role includes offering both Health education and Life skills training and involving primary caregivers, well-wishers, alumni and other children or adolescents living with HIV and have gone public about their status.
The Council also urges teachers to link with Health professionals, Social services and Conditional cash transfers, bursaries, children services and Social Officers and legal services in addressing issues facing most vulnerable children and adolescents, and mature minors in learning institutions.
In a recent sensitization training for County Directors of Education (CDEs), headteachers, Ministry of Education (MoE) Quality Assurance Officers and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on a human centered design approach for Adolescents and Young People (AYP) programming in school, NACC identifies behavioural, social, psychological, physical and economic issues which affect the most vulnerable children and adolescents, and mature minors in school.
The behavioral issues include withdrawal, irritation, bullying and aggression while social issues include stigma and discrimination, lack of support from home and poor or lack of communication with teachers and other students.
A child or an adolescent may be stigmatized or discriminated for caring for their sick or dying parents.
The psychological issues include lack of concentration, self-pity, low self-esteem, loss of childhood privileges such as time to rest and play, religion among others, depression, anxiety, anger, fear of tomorrow, grief and loss.
Physically, the AYP face violence, physical and sexual abuse, exploitation and retarded growth as disability may occur as a complication of opportunistic infections such as herpes zooster, Tuberculosis (TB), meningitis among others.
Economically, some of the issues and challenges AYP face include poverty, poor provision for the family, child labor, lack of resources to meet basic needs like education, health and shelter and missing school to care for younger children or sick elderly persons which results in poor performance in school.
The Council has identified alcohol and drug use as a high risk behavior which puts the young people to be susceptible to contracting HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees and those living with disabilities as AYP having the highest risk of contracting HIV.
Other things that put young people at a higher risk of contracting HIV and STIs include mental health challenges, Cultural and Religious beliefs with harmful cultural norms like Female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriages, Community taboos around HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and power imbalances in relationships.
Others are education which involves low retention and transition rates in schools, school attitudes towards HIV, sexuality education and HIV related stigma; lack of economic empowerment, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Low access to Youth Friendly HIV, SRH and Family Planning Services, Stigma around accessing SRH services and health care worker attitude.
Recent data released by NACC shows that the infection rates among the AYP have been on steady increase since 2020, with HIV situation in the country as per 2020 UNAIDS Estimates showing that out of a total of 87,208 Adolescents aged between 10 to 19 years who were living with HIV, there were 6, 150 new infections; while out of 142,161 young adults aged between 15 to 24 years living with HIV, 14,344 were new infections.
According to NACC data, the HIV testing and number testing positive in 2021 was also on the rise among the AYA with 24 Counties topping the list of Positive tests.
The data shows that 1,588 adolescents aged between 10 to 14 years tested positive from a total of 101,613 who were tested. It further showed that 3,306 adolescents aged between 15 to 19 years tested positive out of 460,917 who were tested in the same year.
Young Adults aged between 20 to 24 years who tested Positive in 2021 were 13, 268 out of 933,175 who were tested in the same year.
