Children And Young People Living With And Directly Affected By Hiv And Aids

a) Early Infant Diagnosis

NAPHAM facilitates access to Early Infant Diagnosis for exposed infants. This is done through the work of Peer Mothers and Expert Clients. The Peer Mothers provide support to the mothers during pregnancy and after delivery. During pregnancy they are urged to adhere to treatment and ensure health facility delivery. After delivery, they are followed up to ensure they remain on treatment and they bring the infant to the health facility for testing until the child is discharged from PMTCT program

b) Psychosocial support and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Young people living with HIV usually have questions and worries regarding their sexual and reproductive health life. Questions such as “Can I marry? Should I disclose my status to my fiancé(e)? How do I disclose? Will he or she not abandon me? Can I have a child?” And many more. NAPHAM is aware of all these challenges and provides psychosocial support to them. This is done through youth groups that are organized at community level and also teen clubs at health facility level. They are provided with information on HIV and AIDS and also sexual and reproductive health.

To young children NAPHAM also targets their parents and guardians. Using a Paediatric Tool Kit, parents and guardians are assisted on how to manage their young ones who are HIV positive. Issues of disclosure of the status are challenging and parents and guardians are assisted on how to handle them.

c) Economic empowerment

Young people living with HIV who are out of school are empowered economically through vocational skills trainings. These trainings are either facility based or community based. For the facility based, they go to training institutions and are certified at the end of the training. However, due to high costs involved, very few are enrolled. On the other hand, the community based are through apprenticeship and the costs involved are on the lower side and many are enrolled. In addition, these are hands on and after the training the young people do not have a lot of problems to penetrate through the markets since they are trained on the job. In either case, NAPHAM strives to provide them with start-up tool kits.