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Prevention is better than cure

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Girls Act and the Boys2Men provide prevention information, HIV testing and referral to HIV treatment, psychosocial support, self-esteem promotion, life skills training and mentorship, encouraging delayed sexual debut, steering away from substance and alcohol abuse, promoting a culture of positive masculinity and championing the struggle against gender-based violence.
Girls Act and the Boys2Men provide prevention information, HIV testing and referral to HIV treatment, psychosocial support, self-esteem promotion, life skills training and mentorship, encouraging delayed sexual debut, steering away from substance and alcohol abuse, promoting a culture of positive masculinity and championing the struggle against gender-based violence.

Durban, South Africa (June 11, 2019) Style Up is the latest youth-focused intervention by the global leaders in innovative HIV care, the AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION (AHF), launching at the 9th annual SA AIDS Conference, hosted in Durban from 11–14 June.

Youth are being invited to participate in a discussion about HIV prevention which will explore their vulnerability to HIV and get their input about the kind of support and care they need to help them stay HIV negative.

“The most recent UNAIDS statistics reveal that 20% of the world’s HIV positive population lives in South Africa and there are 270 000 new HIV infections and 110 000 Aids-related deaths annually. Young people, particularly adolescent girls and young women are disproportionately at risk and Style Up is AHF’s attempt to develop empowering interventions crafted by young people for young people” says Hilary Thulare, AHF South Africa, Country Programme Manager.

Style Up encompasses three objectives:

  • Stay negative – prevent new HIV infections using all the new prevention tools available including sex education, condoms, voluntary male medical circumcision (VMMC) and PrEP
  • Get tested – #KnowYourStatus for you can make informed decisions about your health
  • Start Treatment – ensure youth living with HIV are enrolled and retained in care 

These objectives are the basis of the Style Up programme which educates young people about HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and high risk behaviours, promoting behavioural change and to empowering them to ask for the resources they need to stay healthy.

Style Up events include the Girls Act programme for young women and the Boys2Men programme for young men. They provide prevention information, HIV testing and referral to HIV treatment, psychosocial support, self-esteem promotion, life skills training and mentorship, encouraging delayed sexual debut, steering away from substance and alcohol abuse, promoting a culture of positive masculinity and championing the struggle against gender-based violence.

“85% of all HIV positive 10–19 year-olds live in Sub-Saharan Africa, more that 1.5 million young adults. Style Up is AHF’s attempt to create platforms for young people to tell us what they need, to access healthcare and information that is relevant to them, empowering them to take charge of their health. The campaign is versatile and fun, featuring entertainment, arts and sports. Style Up is a safe space to share concerns and ask questions with peers and with mentors. Style Up aims to help young people become the heroes of their own stories,” exclaims Larissa Klazinga, Regional Policy and Advocacy Manager, AHF South Africa.

"Style is Protection. Condom Up Every Time.”

For more information on AHF, visit either AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION or FACEBOOK.

About the aids healthcare foundation (AHF)
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global Aids organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.1 million clients in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe/Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare 

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