The young people of Khayelitsha now have access to the HIV prevention medication called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
A programme to ensure the dispensing of the PrEP was launched by TB/HIV Care on Wednesday October 10 at Grassroots Soccer in Harare.
The pill will be given to youth who are between 15 and 24 years old, to prevent them from getting HIV if they have had unprotected sex with an infected person.
Clinical Nurse Philiswa Mdziva said this had been highlighted as a vulnerable age group who often were not able to negotiate safe sex with their partners because some of them are older men who did everything for their young partners.
“We are targeting them because they have blessers and baes. They are people who are partying and clubbing a lot. At an adolescent stage, it is difficult for them to negotiate some of the things and they become vulnerable,” she said.
Ms Mdziva called on young people to take care of themselves and emphasised that they needed to know that the power to protect themselves is in their own hands.
“We also urge them to visit some of the clinics to find out more information.
But for this whole month we will be here every Wednesda,” she told Vukani.
She said the pill lowers the risk of an HIV infection by up to 90%.
Lulama Jacobs, a professional nurse counsellor, added that while they were making the pill available to young people, these youngsters should also stop making uninformed decisions.
“This is not to encourage them to sleep with many men. We still preach responsibility and abstinence if they can. But if they can’t, they should stick with their partners,” she said.
“The roll out was welcomed by young people and Portia Trom, 18, called on other young people to work with the TB/HIV Care staffers.
“As young people we could not have asked for more. This shows how our parents and the government care for us.
“I came to have the pills not because I sleep around but because I needed to get tested first and see my health status,” she said.
Ms Trom made a call to young people to regularly check their health status.
“ I must also admit that we can be reckless in how we do things.
That this is directed at us is a great thing.
“As young people it is about time that we change the way we do things. We are the future and that must be engraved in our heads,” she concluded.
Ms Mdziva said even though they were specifically targeting young people, older people were also welcome to consult with them.