22 Nov 2021

The newly opened youth friendly facility in Selebi Phikwe will help the youth to freely open up to health workers and be served without stressing about being judged. 

Findings from a needs assessment conducted countrywide show that young people were not accessing available health services due to various factors, ranging from being judged as well as feelings of discomfort in asking for specific services in the presence of adults, some of whom were their parents and relatives. 

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe said this when officially opening a youth friendly facility at Selebi Phikwe Hospital on Friday, adding that the service would go a long way in serving the needs of the youth in the country. 

The procurement of the facility was done in partnership with ACHAP through the Global Fund resources. He said the rooms within the facility were labelled and as such discouraged young people from seeking services such as those for Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV. 

Furthermore Mr Lelatisitswe said his ministry had over the years experienced high rates of teenage pregnancy, increased numbers of sexually transmitted infections ad new HIV infections amongst the youth. 

The 2016 BIAS study, he said indicated that close to 40 young people got infected with HIV daily, giving the highest infection rates in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. 

He said another study conducted in the country discovered that parents did not open up to talk freely to their children on issues of sexuality to prepare them for adulthood, therefore young people navigated for themselves and in the process found themselves in compromising positions which exposed them to infection. 

He said the family fabric where a young person was raised by society no longer existed, adding that uncles, aunts and grandparents who used to be a child’s supporting structure no longer played the collective role of raising children and in some instances some were even sexual violence perpetrators themselves. 

For her part ACHAP Chief Executive Officer Dr Khumo Seipone said the centre would among others provide youth with life skills for prevention of HIV/AIDS, provide HIV testing and counselling for youth and link youth to other clinical services. 

She said in Selebi Phikwe the Infectious Disease Control Clinic (IDCC) or Selebi Phikwe Government Hospital provided these services to both young and old alike. She said two peer mentors and a counsellor had been recruited in each of the facility to work with youth friendly facility nurses. 

The facility, she said, comprised three offices, all air-conditiond as well as two toilets. One office was designated for consultation and general clinical work, the other for youth mobilisers while the third was for visiting youth to access internet, the computer and IEC materials. 

Dr Seipone said the facility came with office furniture, some equipment for edutainment, a shade for youth meetings and group sessions, WIFI to attract and encourage young people to come for services. 

One of the youths Ms Keneilwe Kgang appreciated the youth friendly facility saying that she and her peers would be able to access health services without fear being watched by adults or judged. She said the facility would enable them to access Internet or play games whilst they waited their turn to be attended to. 

She added the environment was friendly and welcoming Ms Kgang thanked ACHAP for the support she got which included basic life skills which enabled her to earn a living by opening her own business. ends