20 Aug 2017

 The Wise-up campaign has been re-launched in Francistown with the intention to educate and engage the youth on their knowledge of HIV and prevention and comprehensive sexuality through various communication channels.

The Minister of Health and Wellness, Ms Dorcas Makgato said during the re-launch that 33 per cent of young people had sexual intercourse for the first time before the age of 13 years.

“The Wise-Up campaign will therefore step up the provision of age appropriate information, skills and services through multi-media approaches to create awareness and behaviour change,” she said.

The campaign which was initially launched in 2011 stopped in 2014 due to lack of funds. However funds were secured from global fund to help reactivate it.

To this effect, Ms Makgato noted that if they were to achieve Zero new HIV infections they must put all their efforts with the youth to improve their knowledge and understanding of choices and implications of their decisions in their future as HIV prevention was low among adolescents and young people.

She said the campaign would be facilitated through peer education mentors who supported peer educators to drive a meaningful engagement and conversation of the target populations in the focus districts and beyond.

She explained that the youth registered in the Wise-Up electronic platform would receive messages on health and behaviour according to their age categories.

She said those registered would be directed to Facebook page where they would be able to ask questions and see what was trending and the responses thereof.

The Facebook page has been active since early 2017 and boasts more than 15 000 followers extending its reach and impact well.

In addition she said there would be a weekly radio programme on RB2 which addressed different themes on HIV and it would run every Saturday from 1130 to 1145 am.

She further advised parents to listen to the Wise-Up programme on the radio to help initiate honest communication between themselves and their children.

Moreover she advised the youth not to allow themselves to be deceived into engaging in early and unprotected sex or to be placed in circumstances which had the potential to expose them into taking risky sexual actions.

Dr Jerome Mafeni of ACHAP said the campaign urged the youth to wise up and know the danger of HIV and to identify their own risks to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and others.

He said this included having the will power to say No when their bodies told them otherwise. ENDS