DILI, 15 january 2024 (TATOLI) – When it comes to the fight against HIV/AIDS, awareness plays a critical role. In order to combat HIV/AIDS in the country, Timor-Leste National HIV/AIDS Institute organized HIV/AIDS awareness campaign at the Cristal Secondary School, with the aim of raising the awareness of high school students of HIV/AIDS prevention.
The President of INCSIDA, Daniel Marcal, said that the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign is providing students with adequate information which will greatly contribute to reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission in the country.
He said that secondary school students are vulnerable to contracting the disease since many lack knowledge about how to practice safe sex: “Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are at high risk of contracting the HIV-AIDS virus. It is therefore our responsibility to protect our young people,” said Marcal in Dili.
INCSIDA shares information on HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, including abstinence (not having sex), never sharing needles, using condoms and avoiding free sex.
Marcal said that INCSIDA will continue to organize the same HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in all secondary schools to help young people prevent the disease.
The vice principal of Cristal Secondary School, Celestino António Guterres, said that it was a great opportunity for the students to learn new knowledge, especially HIV/AIDS prevention: “Nearly 200 students took part in this HIV/AIDS awareness activity.”
“Young people should know how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS before others think of preventing new generations from this disease,” Guterres added.
INCSIDA has so far registered more than 2,000 cases of HIV/AIDS in the country since 2003, of which 1,065 HIV-positive people are on treatment, 577 have abandoned treatment, 200 have died, and around 160 lost to follow-up.
Daniel Marcal, reported that the cases occurred in all municipalities, with the highest number of cases recorded in Dili with 1,507 infected persons, Bobonaro (113), Covalima (95), Oé-Cusse (62), Baucau (53), Ermera (35), Ainaro (33) and the remaining municipalities recorded more than 10 positive cases.
INCSIDA also registered 15 pregnant women infected with HIV/AIDS and 57 children under the age of five who were born to a mother living with HIV.
Globally, only half (52%) of children living with HIV are on life-saving treatment, far behind adults where three quarters (76%) are receiving antiretrovirals, according to the data that has just been released in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2022.
UNAIDS reported that around 39 million people globally were living with HIV in 2022.
Around 1.3 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2022 and 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2022. More than 29 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2022.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
