Open AccessVulnerability and intervention opportunities: Research findings on youth and HIV/AIDS in South Africa
Publication year - 2004
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.31899/hiv15.1006
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , vulnerability (computing) , intervention (counseling) , government (linguistics) , reproductive health , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , economic growth , community mobilization , socioeconomics , political science , affect (linguistics) , geography , environmental health , psychology , medicine , sociology , population , nursing , family medicine , linguistics , philosophy , computer security , communication , computer science , economics
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) seeks comprehensive local solutions to address the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on children, adolescents, households, and communities. To this end, NMCF initiated the Goelama Project, which uses a community mobilization strategy to catalyze action by local organizations and government bodies to prevent HIV infection and mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of the disease, particularly as they affect orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). This brief highlights key findings from an assessment of reproductive and sexual health knowledge and behaviors among nearly 5,000 youth from eight districts in three provinces in South Africa where the Goelama Project is active: Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and KwaZulu Natal. This research is part of a larger study of 29,000 members of nearly 5,000 households that seeks to identify ways that government and communities can strengthen the socioeconomic capacity of households to care for and support OVC. The youth component focuses on the sexual and reproductive behaviors of young people in the Goelama intervention areas and factors that may influence these behaviors, such as schooling, orphanhood, knowledge, and involvement in community activities.